Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie
by Dreamer's Fate
Summary: This is my version of The Jungle Movie. It's based off of Craig Bartlett's interviews on what he said it would be like. I hope you enjoy! - Completed
1. Prologue

Prologue

He was running. He had to find them. He was so close, he could feel it! Sweat pouring down his face, his heart pounding, his feet aching, and with only one thought on his mind, Arnold was running as fast as he could through the jungle. He knew he was running out of time.  
>Breathing heavily, Arnold could feel danger was at bay. He looked back to make sure no one was following. He wasn't sure how long he'd been running, but he was beginning to feel helpless. He stopped to catch his breath.<br>"Don't give up!" He said to himself. "I can't let them down. They need me!" After a few more deep breaths, he started running again. The jungle was thick and hot. He roughly shoved tree branches and other brush that was in his way as he ran. The farther he ran, the more he saw the jungle thinning out. With new hope, he ran faster.  
>Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. Arnold had come upon a huge, ancient stone building. It was withered and looked abandoned. It had three seperate staircases, with each one going into a chamber.<br>"_This must be it!_" He thought to himself. He glanced around and his eyes fell upon a graving. His eyes widened as he realized it was the symbol. The eye. Arnold knew exactly where he was. He frantically ran up the front steps and into the building, hoping he wasn't too late.  
>"MOM? DAD?" He didn't see anyone in the first room. Desperation creeping on him, he ran back outside and made his way through the walkway. He ran up the second set of stairs, and ran into the second chamber praying they would be in there. Then he saw them.<br>Two people, a man and a woman, sitting on the hard stone floor with their backs to each other, and their hands and feet tied together in rope. They looked up at him as he entered the building, and their eyes widened in terror.

"Mom! Dad!" Arnold ran to them and started to untie them.

"Arnold!" Stella screamed. "Arnold, what are you doing? Get out of here! It's not safe!"

"NO! I'm not going anywhere without you two!" Arnold argued, his eyes stinging as tears welled up in his eyes. "We're going to fight! We can win! I can't lose you again!"

"Son, listen to us! You have to leave! You're putting yourself in danger! We'll be okay, but you have to go!" Miles yelled. Before Arnold could argue with his father, he heard a strange voice.

"Well, well." Startled and fearing the worst, they all looked up to the source. "One happy family together at last.."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold! Hey Arnold!" Arnold's eyes shot open. He groaned and pulled the plug that stopped his potato clock. "_I need a new alarm,_" he thought to himself. He sighed and buried his head in his pillow. He debated on getting up or to just lay in bed. He yawned and stretched, feeling comfortable where he was. He let his mind wander off into thoughts about his parents. It had been a few weeks since he had read his father's journal, but he promised himself he would go to San Lorenzo and follow his father's map. _"They're out there somewhere. Waiting for me."_ Arnold rolled onto his back, and looked out his roof at the sky. Sometimes it seemed like an impossible thing. He wasn't sure how long he laid there just looking at the clouds when a knock at his door took him out of his reverie.

"Hey, Shortman, you up?"

Arnold shook the thoughts out of his mind and responded, "Yeah, Grandpa. I'm up."

His grandfather walked in with a plate of food. "Good! I brought you up some breakfast! Ten year olds need to eat! I talked Pookie into making something edible this morning. I've had enough of her 'surprise omelettes'. What do you think, Shortman?" As Arnold sat up in bed, Phil set the plate down on his lap. Arnold smiled and looked up at his grandfather.

"Thanks, Grandpa."

"Eat up! You have to start your project with your little friend with the one eyebrow today."

Arnold groaned. "Don't remind me." He wasn't sure if he was being sensitive since reading his father's journal, or if she was being worse than usual, but Arnold found himself really losing his patience with Helga lately. "I don't know why she acts so mean to me, grandpa."

Phil sighed and looked at his grandson. "Well, Arnold. There's just some things we'll never understand with some people. All I can tell you is to never lose your temper. You could say something you don't mean and then you'll feel awful for it. But you never know! Maybe she'll ease up. Just remember, never let her get to ya. You'll lose your mind that way." Phil narrowed his eyes. "Just as I lost my mind with the old bird downstairs."

Arnold thought about this. "I guess. I'll keep trying to get along with her. It's just hard to talk to her."

"Girls are hard to understand, Arnold. They mature a lot faster than us men do." Phil chuckled. "But you eat up and get ready to go. You don't wanna be late for school." Phil said as he got up to leave Arnold's bedroom.

"Okay. Thanks again for the breakfast, Grandpa." After eating breakfast, Arnold started to get ready for the day ahead of him. He slipped out of his pajamas, and put on his usual outfit. "I can't believe people still think this is a kilt," he idly thought to himself. He closed the door behind him as he made his way out of his bedroom and down the stairs. "I'll see you later, Grandpa! Bye, Grandma!" He called.

"See you, Shortman!" Phil replied at the same time Gertie responded with, "Bye-bye, Kimba!"

As Arnold walked to school, he once again let his mind wander off. Random phrases from his father's journal popped into his mind. And then the map. _"I'm going to find them. One day soon. I just need a way.."_  
>"Hey, Arnold!" Arnold looked up at the sound of his name. He hadn't realized he had arrived at school. As he looked up, he saw who had called to him.<p>

"Hey, Gerald." Arnold walked up to his best friend, and they did their usual handshake. They made their way up the steps to enter the building.

"You ready to start our Fall projects today?" Gerald asked, already knowing the answer.

"Oh yes. I'm looking very forward to it." Arnold responded sarcastically. "You'd think Mr. Simmons would learn not to group me and Helga together."

Gerald put his hand on Arnold's shoulder. "I know, man. But it's just two days. It'll be over before you know it."

Arnold let out a frustrated sigh."Yeah, two days with Helga G. Pataki."

They walked into the classroom and were met with the usual sounds of their classmates. Harold was laughing obnoxiously at Sid and Stinky, Rhonda was chattering away with Nadine, Eugene and Sheena were singing some showtune, and the rest of the class was messing about waiting to start the day. Arnold and Gerald sat down in their seats and took out their books. "Want to do anything after school today?" Gerald asked.

"Sure, it's Friday. Let's go to the park and play some ball." Before Gerald could respond, he looked up to see Mr. Simmons walk in.

"Okay, class! Settle down!" Mr. Simmons set his folders onto his desk. "Now as you all know," he said, putting his hands together in excitement, "I've got a very special project for you all to do." Half the class groaned, and the other half looked on glumly. "Aw, come on, kids! It'll be fun! Where's your fun Fall project spirit?" He stretched his arms out and smiled at the class.

"Aww, come on, Mr. Simmons! It's a Friday!" Harold complained.

Mr. Simmons' smile didn't falter as he responded to Harold. "Which will make it that much more special!"

"Yeah, so pipe down, blimpo." Helga muttered under her breath.

"Don't call me that! Madamefortressmommy." Harold muttered back.

"Okay, class. Time to get in your groups and start working!" Mr. Simmons sat down at his desk and the kids moved around their desks and sat with their partners.  
>Gerald got up, looked at Arnold and muttered, "Good luck. You're gonna need it, man," and began to move his desk.<br>Arnold sighed and looked back. Helga was sitting in her desk with her arms crossed. Arnold wasn't surprised to see the usual scowl on her face.  
>She looked at him and growled, "What? Are you going to make me come to you, Football-head?" "Be nice, just two days," Arnold reminded himself. He got up and started to turn his desk to Helga's.<br>"Geez, I think I'm going to be fifty by the time you get over here. Criminy, could you be any slower? Of course I get stuck with slow poke football-head." As Arnold pushed his desk next to Helga's and sat down, she poked her finger in his chest. "You better have a good idea for this project. I'm not going to fail because of you, bucko."

"Just brush it off." Arnold gritted his teeth. "Hi to you too, Helga." He bit his tongue. Before she could snap back, he said, "Okay, well. I think we could make a collage to show what Fall means to us. I think Autumn is a really great season and-"

Helga interrupted him. "Who cares what you think? We're going to have to present this to the class, football-head. No one wants to hear about how much you like Fall, especially me. That's the worst idea I've ever heard!"  
>Arnold closed his eyes and tried to keep his temper under control. "Helga, the project is to make a presentation to represent what Autumn means to us. I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas."<br>Helga once again crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmph, fine. But if we're going to make a collage, we're going to put what II say we're going to put on it. Got it, bucko?"

"Whatever, Helga." Arnold turned around to look at Gerald. His partner was Phoebe, and they looked like they were having a great time. _'Of course I get stuck with the worst person in class.'_  
>Meanwhile, Helga was berating herself.<em> 'Ugh, why do I always have to be so mean? Why can't I be nice to the one person that I have for so long pined for? Come on, Helga. If you want to be with Arnold, you have to be nice.'<em> Helga thought about the past few weeks. She had to admit to herself she had been getting meaner to Arnold since her confession on the FTi tower. She took a glance at him. Arnold had his elbow on his desk and his hand on his face. _'He looks miserable. He doesn't deserve this. What's wrong with me?' _She softened her expression._ 'Okay, out with the old Helga! In with the new, nice, sweet, polite Helga!_' "A-Arnold?"

Arnold sighed and turned to his partner. "Yes, Helga?"  
>They looked into each other's eyes. Arnold's mind jumped to the kiss that happened not so long ago. It had been several weeks, but neither of the kids had ever spoken about it since that day. He hadn't given the kiss much thought since reading his father's journal. <em>'I could like Helga. If she was nice, that is.'<em> He thought to himself. He knew deep down there was a different side to Helga. She just needed to let it out of her hard shell.

"We should probably get started." Helga said, looking away. She tried not to tack on 'football-head' to the end of her sentence.

"Oh, right." Arnold rubbed his eyes to focus. "Okay, so I was thinking.."  
>As Arnold spoke, Helga had a hard time concentrating. <em>'He's so perfect. Oh, Arnold! My beloved, sweet football-headed darling! How I love you so. How I wish I could just grab your hand and and get lost into your beautiful green eyes!'<em> Soon, Helga was lost in her fantasy. She grabbed fantasy Arnold's hand and looked into his eyes. _"Oh, Arnold. I love you!"_  
>Fantasy Arnold looked back into Helga's eyes. <em>"Helga.."<em> He said dreamily.  
><em>"Oh, Arnold."<em> Helga said, rather dreamily herself.

"Helga? Helga, are you okay?"

Helga snapped out of her fantasy and realized she had scooted closer to Arnold. "WHAT? Criminy, what do you want, football-head?" She screeched before she could stop herself, looking at Arnold with disgust, and backing away.

Arnold once again gritted his teeth and tried not to lose his temper. "I was asking what do you think?" He said, failing to hide his annoyance. When Helga answered with a look of confusion, he said, "About the collage?"

Helga tried to keep her cool. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, it sounds great, foo-..Arnold." Helga laughed nervously.

Just then, the bell rang for lunch, much to Arnold, and Harold's, pleasure. "YES! LUNCH!" Harold cheered and ran out of the classroom, and the rest of the class walked out to the cafeteria. Gerald caught up with Arnold in the lunch line.  
>"How'd it go, man?"<br>"As good as it could go, Gerald." Arnold felt miserable. He couldn't wait until this project was over. "I'm going to be nice though. I can't let her get to me."

"Just one more day, Arnold." Gerald replied.

"Yeah. Maybe she'll lighten up." Arnold said hopefully. _'I have to keep thinking on the brightside.'_

Lunch and the rest of the school day passed by in a blur. After lunch, Mr. Simmons went over the homework from the night before and decided to give the class the rest of the day to work on their projects. Arnold sat in class with Helga, neither of them speaking to each other. Within the last hour of class, Principal Wartz came into their classroom.

"Mr. Simmons, may I speak to you out in the hall for a moment?"

"Why, of course." As Mr. Simmons walked out of the classroom and closed the door behind him, the class erupted into excited chatter.

"Oh gosh, I wonder what it's about." Phoebe wondered aloud.

After a few moments, Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz walked back into the classroom.

"Is someone in trouble, Mr. Simmons?" Stinky asked.

"IT WASN'T ME!" Curly randomly shouted. Everyone turned to look at him in bemusement. His face was blank and his arms were crossed.

"Uh..no, Stinky. No one's in trouble." Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz glanced at each other and then eyed Curly curiously. After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence, Mr. Simmons continued. "However, I do have an exciting announcement to make!" The class turned back around to face Mr. Simmons. "Principal Wartz has just informed me of a very special writing contest!"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Oooh! A writing contest?" Phoebe asked in excitement.

"Yes! The contest is to write an essay about a personal experience, and what you learned from it." As soon as Mr. Simmons said this, Phoebe immediately took out a piece of paper and began to write. "And there is grand prize for the special winner!" Mr. Simmons continued. "The winner's class will win a trip to Central America!" He exclaimed.

Arnold perked up in his seat as he heard this. "Central America?" He asked.

"That is correct, young man." Principal Wartz said. "You do not have to enter if you do not wish to, but I think this is a great opportunity to go where you have never gone before and have an adventure."  
>The class chatted animatedly while Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz were discussing the contest. 'This could be it,' Arnold thought to himself. 'Could this really be my chance?' "Mr. Simmons? When's the deadline for the essay?" He asked.<p>

"Hm, let's see.." Principal Wartz handed Mr. Simmons the flyer with all the information. "It says..the twentieth of this month. That gives anyone who would like to enter about two weeks."

Arnold merely nodded as he heard this. 'That's definitely enough time.' The bell rang signaling the end of the school day, and before Mr. Simmons could announce that night's homework, the class all ran out ready to start their weekend.

"Goodbye, class! Have a very special weekend! Oh, uh, Curly?" Curly had been trying to sneak out with the rest of the class before Mr. Simmons or Principal Wartz could stop him. "We would like to have a word with you."

Arnold had rushed out of the class so he could get home and start on his essay.

"Hey, Arnold, wait up!" Gerald called as they walked out of the building. Arnold stopped so Gerald could catch up with him. "What time did you want to meet at the park?"

"Oh..actually, Gerald, I don't think I can make it. I'm sorry, I just..I have to work on something." Arnold replied not looking at him.

Before Gerald could answer, they both looked behind them to see Curly racing out of the school building and past them laughing maniacally, screaming, "YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME, WARTZ!"

Principal Wartz was running behind him, trying to catch him. "Get back here, you hooligan!"

"Man oh man, that kid has got some issues." Gerald said, shaking his head. "Well, alright, Arnold. Just give me a call if you want to do something. I'll catch ya later, man."

"Okay. Later, Gerald." They did their handshake and walked away. 'I wonder how long I should make my essay...' Arnold pondered about this as he made his way to the boarding house. Ideas flooded into his mind, and he started to run home so he wouldn't forget any of them.

As he walked into the boarding house, his grandmother was marching around pretending to ride a horse. "Well, hello, Kimba! Back from the jungle so soon?" Pookie asked.

"Yeah, Grandma." Arnold replied, not really listening. He ran up the staircase and ran up to his room. He immediately set his books down, grabbed a few sheets of paper, sat at his desk, and got to work. Sheet after sheet of paper, Arnold wrote. Occasionally, he'd crumple one into a ball and toss it over his shoulder. 'It has to be perfect. This could be my only chance.' After what he presumed was a few hours, he laid his head on the desk and took in a few deep breaths. 'You're thinking too hard. Just think about them. You can do this.' When he realized he wasn't coming up with any new ideas, he heard his stomach growl. He stood up and stretched. He looked at the clock and realized he had been working for almost 3 hours. He went downstairs to the kitchen and got a snack. On his way back upstairs, his grandfather had walked into the hall.

"Shortman, I didn't know you were home! You've been so quiet up there in your room! How'd it go with your friend today?" He asked.

"It was okay, Grandpa. I'm actually working on an essay right now." Arnold told Phil about the essay, the prize, and his thoughts on going to find his parents. As Phil listened, he grew worried for his grandson.

"Now, Arnold. I know what you're thinking, but I don't want you to get your hopes up. You don't know how many kids are entering, and I don't want you to get disappointed." He put his hand on Arnold's shoulder.

Arnold sighed and looked up at his grandfather. "I know, grandpa. But I at least have to try. I need to know I had a chance."

Phil looked down, thought for a few minutes, and smiled. He looked back to Arnold and said, "I know you can do it, Shortman. You know where to find me if you need any help."

Arnold smiled back at his grandfather. "Thanks, grandpa!" He ran back up to his room and went to one of the drawers next to his bed. He opened it to take out the picture of his parents. As he walked back to his desk and set it against a book, he also grabbed his remote control and turned on his stereo. He went through several radio stations and couldn't decide what to listen to.

'I saw your face and wow!'

"Bleh." He said in disgust. He decided to pop in one of Mr. Hyunh's tapes. The music filled the room.

'You can offer me a diamond-plated pearl,  
>You can send me all the riches in the world,<br>You can tempt me with the palaces of kings,  
>I'll give them back in a big ol' sack and keep the simple things'<p>

Arnold smiled and sat back down at his desk. He grabbed his pencil and once again got to work. The words came easily for him now as he just wrote what came from his heart. He looked up at the picture and saw his parents smiling at him. He felt that they were smiling at him in encouragement. 'I can do this. I'm going to win. I'm going to find them.'  
> <p>


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"Oh my word...class! The winner has been announced!" Mr. Simmons exclaimed, holding up a letter. Principal Wartz had just walked in with the letter in hand. It had been a few weeks since Arnold had entered his essay for the contest. He thought back to the nights Phil stayed up late into the night with him, proofreading. He felt quite confident of himself, but couldn't help having some doubts. Phoebe had also turned in an essay and was pleased with herself. The other students in the class didn't have much interest in the essay. Nadine was the only other student to hand one in. Of course, hers was about her fascination with insects and would love the opportunity to learn more in San Lorenzo. All three students perked up at Mr. Simmons announcement.

"Now, remember children, even if we don't win, you all have put in very hard work and are all very special." He said holding his hands together to his chest, smiling. Principal Wartz looked impatient and rolled his eyes at this. Mr. Simmons unfolded the letter and skimmed it with Principal Wartz peeking over his shoulder. Both adults' eyes widened. "WE WON! WE WON!" They both started dancing and singing while the class all looked on in shock. Nadine had gotten out of her desk and started jumping up and down, Phoebe was looking at Helga with a smug expression, and Arnold was sitting with his jaw dropped and heart racing.

"-ahem- Excuse me, sir. But who won?" Phoebe asked, a little anxiously.

"Was it me?" Nadine squealed the same time Mr. Wartz asked, "WAS IT ME?" The students and Mr. Simmons looked at Principal Wartz.

"Principal Wartz, did you enter the contest?" Mr. Simmons asked.

"What? Me? Haha, of course not. The contest is for students and I wouldn't...who cares? WE WON! WOO!" Principal Wartz exclaimed and started dancing again. Mr. Simmons simply turned his attention back to the letter.

"Okay, let's see...oh my. Arnold! Arnold was announced as the winner! Congratulations, Arnold!" Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz started clapping and went to shake Arnold's hand.

"Congrats, young man! You've helped me make my dream come true! OFF TO START AN ADVENTURE!" He walked out singing and dancing. The class started to celebrate and jumped up for joy.

"Oooooh, I already know what I'm going to wear!" Rhonda exclaimed. Nadine rolled her eyes at this and immediately got out a book that was all about insects, already starting to research.

"Mr. Simmons, will they have pizza in San Lorenzo?" Harold asked while Stinky and Sid tried to hide their laughter.

"There, there, Pheebs. It's no big deal. We still get to go, lighten up. I'm just surprised the football-head managed to do _something_ right." Helga was trying to console Phoebe, but couldn't help feeling giddy. Deep down, Helga was screaming congratulations for Arnold. _'Oh, I knew you'd do it! I never doubted you for a second, my beloved!'_

Meanwhile, Phoebe had a little pout, but quickly recovered when Gerald shot her a smile. He then looked at Arnold who was simply staring off into space, still in shock.

_'I can't believe it...I did it...'_ Arnold could already see himself running into his parents arms.

"Arnold? Hey, Arnold!" Gerald was waving his hand in Arnold's face trying to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Gerald. I just can't believe it...I won! I WON!" Arnold got back to reality and started to celebrate. He turned around to Nadine and Phoebe and told them that they had done a good job. They both smiled at him and congratulated him.

"So, Mr. Simmons...when is the trip?" Gerald asked. The class all silenced while Mr. Simmons looked at the letter.

"Hm...it says in a month. I think that's plenty of time to discuss what we need to pack and to study more about the wonderful and unique country!" He smiled at the class, but they were chatting animatedly. He realized he had lost them for the rest of day, so he decided the appropriate thing to do, given the circumstances, was to spend the rest of day researching about San Lorenzo and discussing the trip.

For Arnold, the day passed by in a blur. He couldn't concentrate at all. _'I can't believe it...I'm going to find my parents!'_ His mind wandered off into thoughts of his parents. He imagined rescuing them from perilous danger. Suddenly, the bell rang.

"Okay, class! Tonight's homework is to make a list of what you think you'll need to pack for our trip. We want to be well prepared! Have a special day, class!" Mr. Simmons smiled and waved at all of them as the class made their way out of the classroom.

"Gerald, I have to go tell my grandpa. I'll call you later!" Arnold didn't get to hear Gerald say his goodbyes as he ran straight out of the school building. He ran home, in utter excitement. "GRANDPA! GRANDMA! I WON!" He shouted. As he ran into the boarding house, he almost ran into Mr. Hyunh.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" He yelled.

"Ah! I'm sorry, Mr. Hyunh! Have you seen Grandpa? I need to tell him something really important." Arnold was looking behind Mr. Hyunh, hoping he'd see his grandfather.

"Now what is all this ruckus?" Phil said in annoyance, walking down the stairs.

"Grandpa! I WON! I won the contest! I did it!" Arnold ran to his grandfather and gave him the tightest hug he'd ever given.

Phil chuckled. "Well, I'll be! I knew you would, Shortman!" They both started to celebrate while Mr. Hyunh just shook his head and walked to the kitchen. Soon, Pookie joined in, not really knowing why they were dancing.

Arnold suddenly gasped and started to run upstairs to his room.

"Where're ya going, Shortman?" Phil asked, looking up at his grandson.

"I have to go pack!" Arnold said excitedly and continued up to his room.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Throughout the next month, the class discussed, and did research about, San Lorenzo. They learned more and more about the culture, some urban legends (much to Gerald's pleasure), and history. Arnold read his father's journal over and over, making sure he knew everything. He also looked over the map, and made comparisons to the one Mr. Simmons showed the class. Mile's map was more detailed, but in a different way. Arnold knew where he needed to go find them. At least he hoped.

The day before the trip was spent in anticipated excitement. Mr. Simmons had a hard time making the class pay attention to the lessons. However, even he couldn't deny that he was just as excited as they were. One whole week in the jungle, taking adventures, and just having fun was definitely what he needed.

"Boys and girls?" Mr. Simmons said, trying to get them back on track. After a few minutes, he decided he had lost them yet again, sat down, and started flipping through his folders. He wanted to be absolutely sure he was well prepared for the next day.

"Man oh man, just one more day, Arnold!" Gerald said. He had been spending most of the past month reading up on San Lorenzo's urban legends.

"Yeah, I can't wait! I wonder what adventures we'll get ourselves into." Arnold wondered out loud. Of course, he knew exactly what he was going to do. He decided holding off on telling Gerald about his parents. He knew Gerald wouldn't understand and would try to talk him out of it. He was going to wait for the right moment.

He turned his attention back to the other boys in the class. They were coming up with schemes and talking about all of the adventures they were going to have.

"I say we run away and pretend to get lost! That'll teach Mr. Simmons for taking away my sandwich yesterday!" Harold said, laughing. Stinky and Sid laughed with him, agreeing. The other boys ignored the suggestion.

"Well,_ I_ think we should meet the natives and become friends with them! That way, they won't eat us!" Curly said excitedly.

"Curly, no one's going to eat us. They're normal people too." Gerald told him.

"Of course they're not going to eat us. It's because we're going to befriend them! You'll regret it if you don't!" Curly argued. The boys sighed and agreed, simply to shut Curly up.

Meanwhile, the girls were all crowded in one corner of the classroom, choosing who would sit with who on the plane to San Lorenzo. Rhonda had come up with an origami fortune teller, and the girls were squealing with delight.

"Okay, Sheena! Your turn!" She said excitedly. "Okay, what's your favorite number?"

"4!" Sheena said.

"1, 2, 3, 4. Okay, favorite color?" All the girls were on the edge of their seats. Rhonda asked a few more questions until she finally got to the end. "Sheena, your sitting buddy is going to be..."

"Wait! I don't want to know!" Sheena suddenly exclaimed. "I don't want to spend the rest of the wait for the trip in dread." Sheena had her hands up to her chest, near her heart.

Rhonda sighed in annoyance. "Fine. If you don't want to know and wait in dread anyway, then go on ahead."

"Well..okay." Sheena said hesitantly. "But I'm trusting you, Rhonda!" She closed her eyes, hoping she'd get the answer she wanted.

Rhonda smiled brightly. "Okay! Sheena, you're going to be sitting with...Eugene!"

Sheena opened her eyes, and a huge smile came to her face. She hugged Rhonda in excitement while the other girls cooed. "Ahh! Thank you, Rhonda!"

"Pfft, do you hear this princess?" Helga scoffed and looked at Phoebe.

Phoebe looked skeptically at her best friend. "Come on, Helga. You know you're just as excited as she is. You just show it differently."

"You know, Pheebs..sometimes I don't think you know me at all." Helga looked away and glanced at Arnold. _'Of course I'm excited. I'm going to prove myself to my beloved. He's going to fall in love with me in San Lorenzo. I can feel it.'_

Phoebe saw Helga look at Arnold. _'Daydreaming about him once again.'_ She shook her head at her best friend. "I know you better than you think, Helga."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Oh. My. Gosh. In just a few hours, I, Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, am going to be exploring the jungle in the most exquiste, custom-made outfits this world has ever seen!" Rhonda cooed, looking in her 'one-of-a-kind' compact mirror. In the weeks leading up to the trip, Rhonda's parents made sure their little princess would be absolutely comfortable in 'that filthy place'.

The students were boarding the plane with much excitement and anticipation. Mr. Simmons was frantically counting students over and over while Principal Wartz was singing in Spanish, much too excited to care about anything else.

Rhonda was the first to sit down in her seat, rushing to get as comfortable as possible. She also secretly did so to make sure everyone sat where they were supposed to.

"I think you look oh so lovely, Rhonda." Lila complimented her sweetly while passing her, going to sit two rows behind her.

Rhonda merely scoffed and said, "Of course I do," and once again started to fawn over herself with her compact. She suddenly looked up when she heard Nadine's voice. "Nadine, darling! Remember what my origami fortune-teller said!" She waved to her, with a slight sense of mocking in her voice.

Nadine narrowed her eyes and grunted. "Yeah, Rhonda. I get to sit with Harold." She turned back and looked at Harold with annoyance.

Mr. Simmons heard the exchange. "Oh, actually Nadine, you will be sitting with whoever has the ticket to the seat next to you. I thought I explained that.." He mumbled the last bit to himself, panicking a bit. Nadine, meanwhile, could not have had a bigger smile at this.

Rhonda looked up in shock and disappointment. "Whatever!" She pouted, but got thought of something. "Wait! Who am _I_ going to be sitting with?" She exclaimed worriedly. She then focused on everyone that came her way, scrutinizing them, only to see them walk past her.

Meanwhile, in the line to make their way to their seats, Arnold was in disbelief. He was on the way to find his parents. He had been daydreaming and praying for this day to come for years. He patted his bag, to make sure, for the gazillionth time, that he had his father's journal and map.

"Man, would you lighten up? I'm sure you didn't forget anything." Gerald said, having seen Arnold do this many times. Gerald still didn't know about Arnold's secret agenda, but Arnold was planning on telling him once they got to San Lorenzo.

Arnold found his seat with Gerald sitting beside him. They were lucky enough to trade a ticket with Brainy. "Sorry, Gerald. You're right; I'm sure I didn't forget anything." He smiled and couldn't deny that while his mission is to find his parents, his excitement for getting out of his familiar setting and going somewhere new was welling up inside of him. They put their carry-on bags in the compartment above their seats, and got settled. They both looked up to the sound of someone stomping.

"Could you be ANY slower? _Criminy!_ Yeah, that's right, get out of my way!"

Gerald and Arnold looked at each other. "Does she _ever_ smile?" Gerald asked, rolling his eyes at the sight of Helga shoving the other students.

Arnold looked up at her, while saying to Gerald, "Not lately. I guess she's just always going to be this way." He felt sorry for her as he said this. Of course, he knew Helga could be nice. He _had_ experienced it firsthand a few times, afterall. But lately, it seemed as though that side of her had been lost forever.

Gerald continued the conversation. "She has been like this for years. You'd think she'd be happy about _something_ in her life at some point." They both looked at her walk pass, and turned back, continuing to settle in their seats. "You know, these seats are a lot more comfortable than I thought they'd be." Gerald admired. Arnold agreed, his excitement for the trip drowning out every other thought.

A few rows down, Helga had found her seat and was getting settled in herself. She decided on letting Phoebe get the window seat, so she could be in the aisle. Of course, she really just wanted to eye the back of Arnold's head every few minutes. From here, she had a perfect view. They were on opposite aisle's, and he also had an aisle seat. He was chatting animatedly with Gerald, but she decided not to linger her gaze for the moment. She started looking for Phoebe. Helga promised her that she would pound whoever she had to so they could get seats together. Once she caught sight of her, she called to her.

"Over here, Pheebs!" She waved at her.

Phoebe smiled and made her way over to her. Helga got up and grabbed Phoebe's bag, putting it up for her. "Thanks, Helga. I thought I could reach it," she frowned.

"That's alright. I need to stretch my legs as much as possible anyway. I mean, criminy, we're going to be sitting here for how many hours?"

"It's actually not too long, Helga. As long as we're not delayed or the weather changes, we should be in San Lorenzo in precisely 4 hours." She smiled up at Helga, reassuring her. Phoebe had researched for hours about San Lorenzo, but was looking forward to just enjoying herself.

"Well, nevermind then." Helga said. She sat back down after having put up Phoebe's bag. She couldn't hide her excitement, but had only one plan for this trip. While talking to Phoebe, she glanced at Arnold a few times.

Several rows up, while all the students were settling down, Mr. Simmons decided to once again count every student. He looked at his list again and again, making absolute sure everyone was there. He was mumbling names to himself when a stewardess asked him to sit down and reassured him everything was going to be okay.

"Well, alright." He smiled at her and tried to calm down. While she made her way up the aisle, he sat down and looked beside him at Principal Wartz. He was smiling giddily to himself.

"Mr. Simmons, have I ever told you about my adventures around the world?" He said to him, turning his eyes to the window.

This caught Mr. Simmons by surprise. "Gosh, no, sir. I'd love if you could though!" He said excitedly.

As Principal Wartz started to talk, the intercom came on and the pilot started to make announcements for the flight. The class knew this meant they were taking off in a few minutes and cheered excitedly, much to the annoyance of the other passengers on the plane. After a few minutes, the plane started to move. Arnold and Gerald looked out the window then turned to each other. They did their handshake.

"Let's have fun on this trip, man." Gerald smiled to him.

Arnold smiled back. He pictured his parents smiling at him. _'I'm on my way.'_


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Folks, we have begun our descent into the Cadiz airport," the pilot announced. The class immediately perked up. Arnold almost jumped out of his seat from excitement. Throughout the flight, his mind had been going through thoughts of his parents and the night before the trip.

"Now, Arnold.." Phil had started. He was sitting on Arnold's bed, scratching his bald head. "I know you're excited for this trip, but there's something I need to tell you."  
>Arnold was sitting up with his arms wrapped around his legs. He observed his worried grandfather. He had never seen him so anxious.<p>

"What is it, Grandpa?" he asked calmly.

Phil looked at Arnold and took a deep breath. "I want you to think about the negative side of things. I don't think you understand how serious this is, Arnold. I don't want you to give up on life because you don't find what you're looking for." Phil said this in a rush.

Arnold let this sink in. The truth was he _had_ thought of this. He knew that if he didn't find his parents, he would be devastated. He also thought what he would do if he did find them, only for them to be long gone, buried under the ground. He looked up at his grandfather. "Grandpa, I need to do this. One way or another, I just need to know what happened. I can't sit here hoping for something to happen. It's been 9 years. I need to look for them. I know they might not be alive, but it's something I can't spend my life wondering about." Phil was about to interrupt him, but Arnold continued. "If they aren't alive anymore, I know I'll need to move on with my life. But I just can't sit here with this aching hope anymore. It hurts too much." He sighed. _'But I know they're alive,'_ he thought. What he was telling his grandfather was true, and he had meant it. But deep down, in a way he couldn't explain, he knew they were alive and needed to be found.

Phil hadn't moved from his spot on the bed. He had been listening intently and knew Arnold meant what he had said. Several minutes passed with neither person saying anything. Suddenly, he chuckled and rubbed Arnold's head, messing up his hair. "You're growing up fast, aren't ya, boy?"

Arnold smirked and said, "Yeah." He sighed. "I'm going to miss you, Grandpa."

"I'll miss you too, Arnold. But I'll be at the airport when you come back home." As Phil was about to get up and go to bed, he turned to his grandson. "Say, did I ever tell you about the time your father fought the saber-tooth alligator?" For the rest of the night, Phil told Arnold stories of his parents. They were laughing and enjoying each other's company for both knew after this trip, Arnold would never be the same. The next morning, Arnold had woken up early, and got dressed in a rush. He checked his bags several times, made sure he had the picture of his parents, his father's journal and map, and quickly ate breakfast. He hugged his grandfather, kissed his grandmother (who snuck a fly swatter in one of his bags), and hugged and kissed Abner goodbye before setting out.

"Hey, Arnold! We're here!" Gerald had exclaimed, taking Arnold out of his reverie. He yawned and stretched. "Man, I'm going to need to buy one of these chairs."

Arnold couldn't help but smirk at this. "Yeah, they are pretty comfy." As they, and the rest of the passengers, got their carry-on bags and made their way out of the plane, their excitement was welling up inside of them.

"Ahh, this is going to be great!" Eugene said excitedly. Sid glared at him, having been annoyed with his incessant singing on the plane. Unbeknownst to Eugene, Sid was very close to punching him.

After picking up their luggage, the students lined up in the airport lobby, waiting for Mr. Simmons, much to his relief.

"Okay, class." He put up his hands to his chest. "We are in a very unique place, and they have a very unique way of speaking. Right, Principal Wartz?" He turned to Principal Wartz, only to spot him heading for the airport shop. Mr. Simmons mumbled to himself and got out his Spanish dictionary. "Now, if anyone needs to ask a question, come talk to me first before you ask a native."

"Okay, where's the restroom?" Rhonda almost yelled. The rest of the girls, except Helga, started to ask the same.

"Hm, good question." Mr. Simmons looked around. "Ah! There! Okay, before we go anywhere, everyone take a bathroom break. I believe the bus will be here in 15 minutes to pick us up and take us to the village. I want everyone to meet up back here-oh..." Before Mr. Simmons could finish his sentence, most of the students ran ahead to the bathroom.

Arnold stayed behind and looked around, taking everything in. The lobby was busy with people; a lot more than he expected. He wondered if it was going to be this busy at the village. He then realized he was alone with Helga. She was standing alone, holding her and Phoebe's bags, with her arms crossed and the usual scowl on her face. Arnold didn't like the way she looked. He thought back to what Gerald said.

_'You'd think she'd be happy about something in her life at some point.'_ Arnold's mind quickly jumped to the kiss they shared at the FTi tower. Suddenly, Helga snapped her head in his direction.

_'What is he looking at?'_ she thought. Her instinct would be to yell at him and ask why he was staring at her. But she promised herself that she was going to win him over on this trip. She swallowed hard and curved her lips into the best smile she could muster and waved weakly.

Arnold's eyes widened. _'Why isn't she yelling at me?'_ He then shook his head and smiled back. Arnold couldn't stop looking at Helga's smile._ 'She's so..pretty,'_ he thought to himself in amazement. He started to walk over to talk to her, but before either could say anything, they heard Mr. Simmons call to them.

"Helga! Arnold! Let's go, the bus is early!" They both grabbed their bags and made their way to the rest of the class. They hadn't caught up with them yet when Helga started to talk to Arnold.

"So, football-head! You excited?" She smiled again at him again. _'That's it. Be pleasant! Get his attention! Come on, Helga. You've dreamt of having regular conversations with him. Don't think too much.'_  
>Arnold looked at her curiously, but decided not to question it. He liked this nice Helga.<p>

"Yeah, I am. Are you?" He smiled back.

She shrugged. "I guess. I'm kind of hoping for something new to happen." She looked into Arnold's eyes as she said this, winked, and ran forward to catch up with Phoebe. _'Oh my gosh, what am I doing? Criminy, I'm good!'_ Helga felt giddy inside. She then decided that no matter what, she was going to get Arnold. _'This is my one chance to prove myself.'_

Meanwhile, Arnold was left surprised. He shook his head and figured he had been seeing things._ 'That was weird. Why is she being nice?'_ Without helping it, he smiled to himself and made his way to the bus. _'This is going to be an interesting trip.'_


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Green. Green everywhere. The sun was setting and the students of P.S. 118, Mr. Simmons, and Principal Wartz were now on a bus en route to the village they were to be staying in. For the past two days, the class had been touring San Lorenzo. They had toured the biggest cities, starting out with Cadiz, much to most of the girls' pleasure. They did all of their shopping, and Harold did all of his eating.

"Mr. Simmons! Is there-"

"Harold for the last time, there is NO pizza at the village." Mr. Simmons stressed. He then turned back to the tour guide, utterly fascinated by the customs and people of San Lorenzo. Principal Wartz was following the class, looking at everything with wide eyes.

Harold's eyes bulged and he put his hand to his chest, as if in pain. "Ahhh, how am I going to live?"

Stinky and Sid laughed at this, but everyone else had had enough of Harold's complaining.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe your body can live off of those 6,000 calories in burgers and fries you just had." Rhonda sneered.

Mr. Simmons turned around to see Rhonda pointing her nose up to the sky and walking away. "Settle down, class. We're here to learn and explore, not to argue." He apologized profusely to the tour guide and they resumed walking.

Meanwhile, Arnold was losing his patience. He was happy to be somewhere new, but all he really wanted was to go to the village so he can get on with his mission. _'How much longer?'_He couldn't stop asking himself. He had had enough and was getting irritated.

But now, all anyone could see was green. The jungle was thick with trees and brush. This was exactly how Arnold had pictured it. He wanted so very desperately to take out his father's journal to see the map, but he was sitting beside Gerald and didn't want him to see it just yet. He made sure to look at every single thing they passed, trying to remember every detail in case it would help him on his quest.

His heart almost skipped a beat when he caught a glimpse of the village. _'I'm actually here! Mom and dad are somewhere around here right this second!'_He could hardly contain his excitement. The feeling of being in, hopefully, the same city as his parents gave him even more hope. He wanted to just run out of the bus and start looking for them right then. But, he knew he had to wait for the right time.

"Man oh man, can you believe this, Arnold?" Gerald was looking from the window beside his seat, and had his face almost pressed against it.

He turned to his best friend and in genuine shock responded with, "Not at all."

The trees were thinning out, and soon enough, they arrived at the village. Cabins were the first to catch everyone's eyes. They were all log cabins. The small community looked peaceful, and was almost like a paradise. The class then saw villagers outside, working or just enjoying each other's company. The villagers all stopped what they were doing and smiled and waved to everyone in the bus, and the class smiled and waved back. They took in the scenery.

Mr. Simmons gasped, "Oh my."

"Whoa!"

"This is so cool!"

"Look over there!" The students were in complete awe. All except for one.

"I'm sorry, but is THAT what we're sleeping in?" Rhonda pointed in disgust to a cabin.

Nadine rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Rhonda, this looks just like the one I use whenever I go on trips with my family."

Rhonda simply pouted and dramatically drew one of her hands to her forehead. "Oh, if only mummy and daddy knew!"

As the class filed out of the bus, Arnold caught sight of one of the villagers several feet away. It was a little girl, about 4 years old. She had dark brown hair and was wearing a green dress with a design Arnold couldn't make out. She seemed to be in shock. She had stopped playing with the other children, and stood completely still. She looked at Arnold with wide eyes, which made him feel quite uneasy. Arnold could see a small smile forming on her face. She started to walk towards him, pointing, but an older villager pulled her back, staring at Arnold with the same shocked expression.

He shook his head, thinking he was imagining things. _'What was _that_ about?'  
><em>  
>"Arnold? Arnold Shortman?" Mr. Simmons was going down the class list, making absolute certain everyone was there, yet again.<p>

"Huh? Oh! Sorry, here!" He quickly responded. He turned back to the little girl and older villager, but they were nowhere to be found. He made a mental note to find out who they were. If anything, he would show them his father's map. Maybe they could help him find his parents.

"Okay, class! The girls are going to stay in one cabin, and the boys in another. Principal Wartz and myself will be staying in that one," he pointed to a smaller cabin in between the two cabins the students were staying in. "If you need anything, do not be afraid to ask the villagers. I'm told some speak English, so don't be shy." Mr. Simmons then seemed to calm down a bit and put his hands to his chest. "Now remember, class, these very special people have accepted us coming into their village. They have a special way of doing things, so we should all try to learn some of their customs." He smiled encouragingly. Principal Wartz was simply looking around, mesmerized by everything. "For now," continued Mr. Simmons, "let's all go to our cabins and get unpacked. You can all look around the village once you've finished getting settled. Just remember, we have a long day tomorrow, and we should catch up on our sleep!"

In excitement, the boys and girls grabbed their luggage, and ran into their cabins.

-

"I CALL THAT BED!"

"NO, _I _GET THAT ONE!"

Harold and Curly were in the boys' cabin, arguing over a bed. Brainy stood idly by, simply watching the argument. Eugene wasn't paying attention, as the boys always argued. Arnold and Gerald were also ignoring the arguing, trying to decide which bed to pick.

"YOU BETTER MOVE, OR I'LL POUND YOU!"

"Uh, guys?" As Eugene was making his way to a bed, he got caught in the middle of the argument between Curly and Harold. Harold had pushed Eugene into the wall, trying to intimidate Curly.

"BUT I WANT THAT ONE!" Curly complained. As he saw Harold push Eugene, he narrowed his eyes and said, "HA! You don't scare _me_, Harold." He stomped his foot down, and shoved one of his bags on the bed, accidentally whipping Eugene in the face.

"Ouch!" Eugene closed his eyes in pain, and rubbed his cheek. "Guys?"

Arnold and Gerald got in the middle of the two. "Stop it, you guys! We're on a trip here. Can you all stop fighting for two seconds? Besides, we've got some extra beds in here."

"Arnold's right, you all need to cool out!"

"I will when HAROLD stops yelling at me." Curly crossed his arms.

"Aw, shuddup, Curly! You won't do nuthin'!" Harold argued. However, he walked over to the other side of the cabin. "Just stay away from me! And don't mess with me while I'm sleepin' or you'll regret it!" He turned to Sid and Stinky. "Come on!" They walked behind him as he led the way.

Arnold and Gerald walked over to Eugene who had slumped to the floor.

"You okay?" They grabbed his arms and helped him up. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm used to things like this." Eugene shrugged, smiled, and walked over to a bed.

After seeing that the argument was over, Brainy simply dragged his luggage to the bed beside the door.

"Not even an hour here, and they're already fighting." Gerald said, shaking his head.

Arnold sighed. "Yeah, this is going to be great." _'Of course, I won't be here for more arguing.'_Arnold and Gerald picked their beds. Arnold had pick one that was against the wall, right beside a window, and Gerald's was right beside his. He opened his bag, and the first thing that came out was his father's journal.

"Hey, what's that?" Gerald had seen it and was eyeing it curiously. "It looks really old."

A startled Arnold quickly shoved the journal away under some of his clothes in his bag. "Oh, that? It's nothing." He fake yawned. "I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to turn in after unpacking." He turned his back to Gerald and got out his pajamas.

Gerald raised his eyebrows. "Arnold, it's not even 9 o'clock."

"Oh...well, I guess I must have jet lag." He didn't turn to look at Gerald while he said this.

Gerald wasn't convinced, but let it go. "Whatever you say, man." He turned his back to Arnold and also started unpacking.

_'I have to tell him soon.'_ Arnold started contemplating. He peeked behind him to make sure Gerald, and no one else, was looking. He took out his father's journal. After a few minutes, he decided. _'Tonight. While everyone's asleep, I'll tell him.'  
><em>

Meanwhile, the girls were settling in. They were setting up their beds with their own accessories, as they had now been getting more girly. Rhonda's was the most luxuriant. She had pink, fluffy pillows, an ivory canopy with pink bows, and the biggest comforter the girls had ever seen. Most of the girls were admiring it, and then complimented each other's beds.

Helga and Nadine were already laying in their beds, preoccupied with books. Nadine was reading about the wildlife of San Lorenzo, and Helga was flipping through a San Lorenzo history book she bought in which she hollowed out the middle and put in a few pages from her one of her poetry books.

"Oh my, I really like what you've done with your bed, Sheena. It's just ever so lovely." Lila smiled sweetly at Sheena.

Sheena smiled warmly. "Thank you, Lila! I really like yours too!"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. The girls quickly hopped into their beds.

Mr. Simmons walked in holding a candlelight. "Good evening, girls! I just wanted to make sure you were all going to bed. Remember, we have to get up early tomorrow. Our tour guide said to be ready at 6 a.m. We'll have breakfast and then start our tour of the village!" He smiled brightly at the girls. Some of them squealed with delight while others yawned or looked on uninterested. "Well, goodnight, girls. I'm off to tell the boys, now. Sleep well!" He walked out closing the door softly behind him.

After a few minutes, Rhonda lit a candle. "I don't know about you girls, but I think it's time we discuss something VERY important." Sheena, Phoebe and Lila all got up with their pillows, giggled, and made their way over to Rhonda's bed.

Nadine and Helga stayed laying in their beds, while Rhonda was not very pleased with this.

"Come on, girls! Don't be party poopers! I know you all have your eyes on one of the boys in our class," she said teasingly to everyone.

Helga grunted and rolled over so her back was facing them. Nadine, already asleep, didn't stir.

"Hmph, suit yourself!" She then continued talking and giggling with the other girls.

Helga could feel her irritation creeping up on her. Her only escape was thoughts of her beloved Arnold.


	9. Chapter 8

Sleep was the last thing on Arnold's mind that night. He was laying in his bed, staring at the wall. He thought of the little girl who had stared at him. 'Why did she look at me like that? Something about her..' His thoughts then drifted to his parents. He fantasized about the moment he found them. He thought of the good, and the bad, possibilities. He pictured his parents smiling at him after years of not seeing their beloved son. He could feel their arms around him, holding him close and never letting go.

Suddenly, Arnold felt tears forming in his eyes. He quickly wiped them away, and let out a frustrated sigh. He rolled over in his bed. The boys were now fast asleep, as it had been a few hours since Mr. Simmons told everyone to go to bed. Arnold wondered what time it was. He could hardly make out anything in the darkness, but felt for his bag underneath his bed. Once he found it, he opened it and took out his father's journal. He also found the flashlight he had packed. He quietly crept out of his bed and tiptoed to Gerald. He tapped him on the shoulder.

"Huh? What?" Gerald rubbed his eyes. "Arnold? What are you doing?" He was groggy and sounded agitated.

"There's something I need to show you. Come on, let's go outside." He made to go for the door, but when he didn't hear Gerald move, he turned back.

"Man, just wait until the morning. We have to get up soon anyway." He waved Arnold off and pulled his blanket over his head.

Arnold sighed and went back to Gerald's bed. He pulled his blanket off of him to get him moving. Gerald groaned and reluctantly got up.

He started to mutter under his breath. "Can't get a decent night's sleep anywhere."

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Shh, come on!"

"I'm comin', I'm comin'." Gerald yawned and lazily put on his slippers. Both boys silently made their way out of the cabin and into the starry night.

Elsewhere, Helga had also slipped away outside. She wasn't able to sleep, thanks to the chattering of her roommates, but wasn't sleepy anyway. She was laying on the grass with her hands behind her head, behind the girls' cabin, and looking up at the stars. The moon was bright and gave her enough light to see her surroundings. She took in a deep breath and let it out, feeling content. It was a hot night, but occasionally, a cool breeze would come her way. It was her kind of weather. _'If only he could be with me,'_ she sighed and closed her eyes. She thought about Arnold, and fantasized about the start of their relationship in San Lorenzo. She came up with different scenarios of how he would fall deeply in love with her. _'Ahh, it's going to be perfect.'_

Suddenly, she heard a door opening. Her eyes shot open, and she quickly sat up. It was coming from the boys' cabin. _'Crap,'_ she thought. She started to crawl over to get a view of who it could be without being noticed.

_'Arnold?'_ She then looked up to the sky. _'Is this a sign? Him and I, alone outside under the stars?'_ Before she could swoon, she then saw Gerald right behind Arnold. She groaned to herself. _'Of course. My soulmate and tall-hair boy. What are they up to?'_ She saw them sit down near the brush of the jungle. She saw that Arnold was holding a flashlight and was explaining something to Gerald. She got up and made her way over to them to see what they were talking about.

She carefully tiptoed across the girls' and the adults' cabins, desperately hoping not to make a single sound. She crouched low and hid behind some bushes. She stopped when she was close enough to hear the two boys.

"-and I know what you're thinking, Gerald, but this is my only chance. I can show you everything, even the map! It's right here!" Arnold almost shoved the journal into Gerald's arms. Arnold couldn't contain himself. His eyes were bright with excitement as he was explaining his true reason for being in San Lorenzo. "You see? We're right here!" He pointed to a spot on the map. "This is the exact village they were staying in!"

_'A map?'_ Helga couldn't help herself. She crept closer, as quietly as she could manage, trying to get a peek of the map herself. The bright light coming from Arnold's flashlight helped Helga see the map. She saw a trail and a detailed layout of the San Lorenzo jungle. _'Hmph, well that doesn't look very special.'_

Gerald had stayed quiet until Arnold had finished speaking. He stared at the map and then absentmindedly flipped through a few pages of Mile's journal. Arnold let him take his time as he let all of the information sink in Gerald's mind. He looked up at Arnold. "...so," he started, "you're telling me, you found your dad's journal and map, entered yourself into the writing contest, actually managed to win said contest, and came here to San Lorenzo to find your long lost parents?" He looked at Arnold skeptically. He didn't sound at all surprised, much to Arnold's confusion and relief.

He nodded in confirmation. "Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."

Helga gasped in surprise, and almost fell back. _'Ah! He's looking for his parents?'_ Arnold and Gerald looked in her direction. _'Oh, criminy!'_ She ducked quickly, narrowly missing the ray of Arnold's flashlight as he pointed it in her direction.

"Did you hear that?" Arnold got up and started to walk towards the bush Helga was right behind.

"It's probably nothing. C'mon, man. We need to get back. If we get caught, Mr. Simmons probably won't let us out of the cabin." Gerald had stood up, straightened his pajamas, and started to walk towards the cabin.

Arnold eyed the bush a few more seconds before turning around. Helga let out a huge breath of relief. "Wait!" Gerald turned around to face Arnold. "Are you with me? I really need you, Gerald. I don't think I can do this alone." Gerald looked down at the ground, contemplating. Arnold then added in a serious tone, "But I will if I have to."

Gerald stood silently for another minute or two. He then sighed heavily and threw his arms up in the air. "Why can't we ever have a normal, relaxing trip?" Arnold laughed at this. Gerald then smiled at Arnold, and stuck his hand out, forming his hand into a fist with his thumb up. "No matter how crazy this is, you know I'm always with you, man."

Arnold smiled back and returned the gesture. "Thanks, Gerald. What would I do without you?" Both kids wiggled their thumbs. "C'mon, let's go. I already have a plan for tomorrow..." They both started to walk away while Arnold continued telling Gerald his plan, leaving Helga alone. She was in too much shock to move.

_'Oh, Arnold...'_ She didn't know what to think. She knew how crazy it was, and the bad repercussions that could result from Arnold's plan. She got up once she knew Arnold and Gerald would not see her. She bit her lip and paced back and forth. "Oh, my love. My poor love, longing to be reunited with his parents. To what distance will you go to achieve your goal? And what if you never find them? What will happen to you then?" She stopped pacing, and gazed at the boys' cabin. She pictured Arnold and his bright green eyes, full of hope. "Well, I guess it's up to me to figure out your plan." With that, she quickly returned to her cabin and jumped into bed. _'Helga, old girl'_ she sighed, _'you've got a hard week ahead of you.'_


	10. Chapter 9

**Sooo sorry this took forever! The next chapter will be up later today and is much longer! Enjoy! Please review!**

Chapter 9

"Is that it?" Gerald was peeking over Arnold's shoulder at a map of San Lorenzo he had gotten in a store when they were in Cadiz. He was looking at the big red 'x' symbol Arnold had put. They were walking behind the rest of the class on their first tour of the jungle. There were different trails for each day.

"Arnold! Gerald! Keep up! We don't want to lose anyone in this place, wonderful and unique as it is." Mr. Simmons had called to them. He turned his attention back to Principal Wartz and the tour guide.

Arnold sighed. "That's it. That's the first place I want to go. It's the temple I was born in." He smiled and thought of his father's recollection of the memory written in the journal.

Gerald raised his eyebrows and flicked a bug off of his shoulder. "And if they're not there?"

"Well," Arnold folded up the map, "I guess we're going to have to wing it." He smiled out of optimism.

Gerald rolled his eyes and sighed. "Man, I hate when there isn't a plan."

"There _is_ a plan."

Gerald smiled and acted to wave him off. "Right, right."

A few steps ahead of them, the rest of the students were walking in the jungle, lost in wonderment.

"Gosh, isn't this just splendid?" Lila was daintily walking along, completely captured by the atmosphere.

"Ugh, yeah, if you like the hot climate, useless sunglasses, and now completely filthy shoes." Rhonda waved her hands around in frustration.

Lila smiled at her and tried to comfort her. "Why, Rhonda, you just look ever so wonderful. I wish I had the same sense in fashion as yourself." She fluttered her eyes.

Rhonda found this acceptable. "Well, thank you, Lila. I'm glad _someone_ in this place can still appreciate my efforts." She turned to her best friend. "Oh, Nadine. Would you _please_ stop pausing at every single bush we come across?"

Nadine had a bag filled with 3 jars to collect insects in and had a magnifying glass in her hand. "Sorry, Rhonda. I don't want to miss anything. You know, you don't have to wait for me though." Nadine didn't look away from her magnifying glass while speaking.

"But, Nadine! You don't expect me to walk by myself in this horrid place, do you? Even if I am the best dressed." Rhonda stumbled in her 2-and-a-half-inch-heels.

Nadine simply rolled her eyes.

"Aughh! I think I'm dying! Mr. Simmons, how much longer are we going to go?" Harold was fanning himself, acting like he was dying of heat exhaustion.

Mr. Simmons didn't hesitate. "Harold, you're going to be fine. I have water if you need it, don't forget! But for now, please enjoy the beautiful sights in front of you."

"Can you believe it, Helga? I've never seen such an exotic place!" Phoebe was looking around with excited eyes.

"Eh, it's okay." Helga said absently. She was excited to be there, but her mind was preoccupied.

Phoebe giggled, not picking up on Helga's cryptic tone. "Well, I believe this is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. I'm soaking up every minute of this!"

Helga turned to look at her best friend. She saw Phoebe look around, lost in amazement, and felt happy to see her so excited. She sneaked a glance over her shoulder to look at Arnold. He was putting something away in his backpack. _'I bet it's that journal. I have to find out what they have planned.'_

"So, how far away is this temple from our cabins anyway?" Gerald had picked up a stick and was waving it around.

Arnold looked down. "Well, I compared the public map and my dad's map last night. The temple isn't marked on the public map because it's hidden, obviously. The Green Eyes wouldn't want anyone to find it." He turned to Gerald. "If I got it right, it's about two and half to three miles away." As he expected, Gerald's face formed a baffled expression.

"Right," Gerald had stopped walking, dropped the stick, and had grabbed Arnold's arm,"and how do you expect to WALK there, have a family reunion, and get back in time before everyone wakes up?"

Arnold pulled him along to not get seperated from the group. "Well...I haven't figured out that part yet," he admitted. They continued to walk, both looking down at the ground a little behind the group. When Gerald stayed silent, Arnold looked up at him. "Look, you really don't have to come with me. This isn't your mission, it's mine."

Gerald rolled his eyes. "Man, I told you. I'm with you in whatever you choose to do. I'm just thinking.."

Arnold smiled at what Gerald said, and turned his eyes back to the ground. "I guess we're just going to have to sneak away in the middle of the night. Tonight."


	11. Chapter 10

**This took a bit longer than I thought! lol The episode I reference here, the camping trip, is "Roughin' It". And the truck I had in mind while writing this is: http:/images(dot)travelpod(dot)com/users/kasuteu/1 I hope you all enjoy! Please review, it's very encouraging!**

Chapter 10

"Whoa, hold up. Did you just say _tonight_?" Gerald had once again stopped walking.

Arnold nodded and sounded as if he didn't notice Gerald's bewildered expression. "Let's follow this trail when we leave tonight. We're going to have to walk off of it after a few hundred feet, but we have to go in this direction anyway."

Before Gerald could respond, Mr. Simmons had just turned around to make sure everyone was keeping up and had seen that Gerald and Arnold weren't walking along. He sighed to himself. He raised his voice and called to them.

"Now, boys. Please don't make me ask you again. I know this is all very new, and special, and exciting, but we can't afford to lose anyone. Maybe Principal Wartz should go back there." He turned to Principal Wartz, who was whistling contently, and was lost in his own world. He then started to speak in Spanish to the tour guide. "Hm...on second thought, I'll go back there."

The boys groaned before Mr. Simmons could hear them. This meant the end of their very important conversation. They instead walked along the trail, sight-seeing, and being amazed by the jungle. The way the sun hit the trees, the exotic birds chirping, and the rocky trail that looked like it would go on for miles. Arnold suddenly remembered he needed to make sure to let every single detail of the trail sink in. In case they went the wrong way, he needed to know that he'd be able to find his way back.

Thanks to his grandfather, he wasn't too afraid of being lost, despite being in an unfamiliar place. He was also lucky Gerald was there when Phil taught them the basic survival skills when they went camping last summer. He smiled and chuckled to himself at the thought. He then proceeded to look at every tree, every bush, and made mental notes to himself. He tried to think his grandfather's words at the same time. _'What was it? Red and sweet, good to eat? Or was it green and sweet?'_ He wrinkled his nose when he remembered how he got sick after eating the wrong berries. _'Bleh.'_ He then remembered the rest of the little rhyme in Phil's voice. _'But I swear by this sonnet, _green_ will make you vomit!'_ He chuckled to himself, and noticed Gerald turned to look at him.

He saw Arnold look around at all the trees, and bushes, looking around for something significant to remember. He picked up on what he was doing. They gave each other a look that said, "Are you thinkin', what _I'm_ thinkin'?" At that, Gerald walked up ahead to Phoebe.

"-don't think Miriam and Bob have even noticed-" Helga stopped what she was saying when she turned to Phoebe and noticed Gerald walking up to them. "What do you want, tall-hair boy?"

Phoebe turned to her left and smiled brightly when she saw Gerald. She giggled, "Hola, Gerald!"

Gerald smiled back at her, then looked at Helga. "I have a favor to ask Phoebe." Helga rolled her eyes, and he turned back to Phoebe. "I was wondering if maybe you had a notebook with you?" He dropped his voice to a whisper, "I remember you said that you wanted to take a few notes of this place on the phone."

Phoebe blushed lightly and squealed internally. _'He remembers!'_ She giggled, and gave her notebook to him. She whispered back to him, "Will you still be meeting me after we're finished with this tour, Gerald?" Slightly moving her head, she rolled her eyes to the side to peek at Helga. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed her best friend lost in her own thoughts.

Gerald also blushed at this and nodded. "Oh, also," he tried to sound nonchalant, "do you know how long a mile is?"

Phoebe looked curiously at him. "5,280 feet."

He tried to smile sincerely, but was hiding his anger at Arnold. _'Keep your cool.'_ He simply gave Phoebe a kiss on the cheek and winked. He turned to walk back to Arnold, heard Phoebe giggle, and thought to himself, _'Super smooth, man!'_

Arnold saw their exhange and looked past Sid, Stinky, and Harold, and saw Helga's back. She wasn't doing her usual stomping around, but seemed a bit more relaxed. He idly thought to himself, _'She looks nice today..'_

Before he could think any further, Gerald was back and he was surprised to see Gerald's expression. _"5280 FEET?"_ Gerald was fighting to whisper.

Arnold almost laughed. "Don't worry about it. I'll think of something." They both sneakily glanced behind their shoulders to see if Mr. Simmons was watching them. Luckily, he was busy smiling to himself and taking pictures of the beautiful scenery at every angle he could with his disposable camera.

After making sure it was okay, Arnold took out a pencil and made a few notes in Phoebe's notebook. Every now and then, Gerald would bump his elbow against Arnold's to point out a funny looking tree or animal footprints.

About half an hour into the tour, the tour guide led the class to a creek/rest area. She turned to them and spoke loudly. "We'll have lunch here, and if your teacher permits, you can swim in the creek."

Mr. Simmons walked ahead of the class to make his own announcement. "Okay, class! Let's go on ahead and eat, and I'll decide after if you can swim."

As the class walked over to the tables, Principal Wartz walked beside Mr. Simmons. "I never got to finish telling you my adventures, Simmons!"

Mr. Simmons half-heartedly smiled and groaned internally. He made his way to the table where food was set up for the class. He helped serve the students and sat down alone. Principal Wartz joined him and proceeded to tell him his very exaggerated stories.

At the kids' tables, Arnold and Gerald decided to keep quiet for the rest of lunch. They didn't want anyone to even get a hint that they were planning something. For the time being, the two boys were acting normal.

After lunch, the boys all wanted to swim, but Mr. Simmons objected. The class groaned, but soon forgot about swimming after seeing two big, green trucks on the trail. It had several rows of seats and was windowless. The class saw this and all were amazed and grateful at the sight of it.

"Whoaa," they said in unison.

"Gosh, are those for us, Mr. Simmons?" Lila asked.

"I reckon it is, Lila. On a counta' there ain't no one in the back." Stinky answered her before Mr. Simmons could.

Mr. Simmons turned to the tour guide with a puzzled expression. She smiled at him. "I thought the kids could take a break from walking for a while. We still have many trails to do for the rest of the week."

He smiled back at her and put his hands to his chest. "I don't know how to thank you!" He turned back to the students. "Okay, class! The girls go in the first truck, the boys in the second."

Harold shoved everyone out of the way and was the first to be seated on the boys' truck. As the kids got in the back of their trucks, they made their way down the trail. There was another tour guide for the boys who seemed very bored. He yawned and introduced himself.

"Hola, me llamo Francis." Every now and then, they would stop and the tour guide would explain the history and some interesting facts about the jungle.

Throughout all of this, Arnold couldn't help but not pay attention to the tour. He was enjoying feeling the breeze in the hot weather, and was losing himself in his thoughts. He thought of the journey to the temple, thinking it wouldn't take very long to find his long-lost parents. _'I wonder if they can feel that I'm close.'_ He was getting excited and hoped for the best, but also knew the very worst could happen. He thought of Gerald getting panicked in the jungle and not having faith in him. He turned to his best friend who also seemed lost in thought. Arnold also thought of not finding them, but pushed that thought out of his mind. _'No...they're here. Nine long years, but it will all be worth it.'_

Before he knew it, they were back at the village. As he was getting off the truck, he saw a child playing a little off in the distance. He immediately remembered the girl from when they first arrived. He turned to Gerald and startled him with his wide eyes. "I have to tell you something." They started to walk away from the group when Phoebe and Helga stopped them.

"Hello, Gerald! Hi, Arnold." Phoebe greeted them, and she smiled sweetly at Gerald. "I just wanted to know if you already knew." When they answered her with a puzzled expression, she continued. " On the way back here, our tour guide informed us that the village is having some sort of party tonight. I think it'll be fun."

Helga looked at Arnold. "Yeah. A-are you going to go?" She tried to not sound too interested in his answer.

Arnold, and Gerald who had heard her tone, looked at each other then looked back at the two girls._ 'Is she asking me to go with her?'_ Before Arnold could respond, Rhonda came over to them.

"Oh, are you girls telling them about the soirée tonight?" Her eyes lit up. "You all have NO idea how excited I am that I brought my good clothes to this trip. I just knew they would be of use. You boys should join us!"

"Uh.." Gerald looked at Arnold. They both knew they needed to plan for later that night.

Arnold bit his lip, but answered for them. "Uh, sure! We'll be there." He smiled at all three girls.

Helga and Phoebe smiled brightly, and Rhonda nodded as if she were adding them on the guest list.

Helga couldn't help but perk up to Arnold's answer. "Great! We'll see you there, football-head." Helga smiled at him and walked away, with Phoebe and Rhonda joining her.

Arnold was perplexed. It almost seemed like she called him 'football-head' as a petname._ 'No...that's too weird.'_ He shook the thought out of his head and turned to Gerald.

He slightly raised his voice to his best friend. "Arnold, how are we supposed to figure all of this out if we're at a party?"

Arnold waved him off. "I'll tell you about that later. But back to what I was going to tell you." They walked around the village, while Arnold told Gerald of the little girl he saw. He recollected how she had just stared and pointed at him, as if she knew who he was. He also remembered having a sense of familiarity about her.

"Arnold, I don't mean this in a bad way," Gerald was looking around them, making sure no one was listening, "but do you realize how crazy you sound?" Arnold rolled his eyes and didn't answer. Gerald found this to not be enough and continued. "I was right behind you, and I did not see any little girl."

"Gerald, I saw her. I know she was there. And I think I've seen her before. Or maybe it was something she was wearing.." He thought hard to remember. He wasn't sure what it was, but there _was_ something.

Gerald sighed. "Okay, fine. Let's say you see her again. What are you going to do? Chase after her and ask her for her name? She probably doesn't even speak English, man. Besides," they were turning back, as they had just heard Mr. Simmons call to them, "you know how kids that young, are. She probably think she's seen you before. Timberly does it all the time. They do get a lot of tourists around here and was probably just excited."

Arnold shook his head. "Gerald, you didn't see the way she looked at me. There was just something I knew about her."

Before they arrived within earshot of Mr. Simmons, Gerald turned to Arnold and sighed. "Well, maybe this little girl will be at the party tonight."

Arnold bit his lip again. "Maybe."


	12. Chapter 11

**Hope you like this chapter, everyone! Please review!**

Chapter 11

"This looks splendid! Doesn't it, Helga?"

The atmosphere was changing in the village. The villagers were beginning to put up hundreds of candle-lights and decorations everywhere. The sun was still up, but not for long. The weather was cooling down a bit. Phoebe and Helga were walking around the village, admiring the new look.

Helga shrugged. "It's pretty cool. What's all this for, anyway?" Helga reached up to further admire a decoration.

"Well, the tour guide said something about an annual celebration. I must admit I wasn't paying enough attention. I just can't help but be in awe of this whole village! I just love it here, Helga!" Phoebe smiled brightly at her.

Helga simply smirked back and shook her head. She hadn't seen Phoebe like this since she was excited to meet Ronnie Matthews.

"Bonjour, mes amies!" Rhonda called to them. She waved and walked over to them. "Isn't this place just looking wonderful? Of course, it's nothing like mummy and daddy's parties, but it'll do." She smiled at them. "Do you girls like my dress? It's _very_expensive. Mummy insisted on this dress being sent in from France." She was wearing a black and white polka dotted dress with a red buttoned up cardigan. She pulled out the hem of her dress on her left and ride side, and twirled to give Phoebe and Helga a better look. "Oh! Where are my manners? You girls look absolutely lovely. I'm glad I won't have to call the Fashion Police on you two." She giggled and put her hand on her hip. "Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Sheena and Nadine. I don't even think Nadine tried to dress up for this evening."

Phoebe shifted her weight, feeling uncomfortable. Helga crossed her arms and scowled at Rhonda. "Ah, get off your high horse, Rhonda."

She squinted. "You know, my father always said to be the 'bigger woman'." She pointed her nose up and walked away.

"Oh my," Phoebe lowered her voice suddenly. "Gerald is looking quite handsome tonight."

Helga looked in the same direction as Phoebe and saw Gerald and Arnold walking towards them. She relaxed and felt a rush of excitement at the sight of Arnold.

"Hey, football-head," she said with a soft smile. She looked at Gerald and nodded towards him. "Tall-hair boy." Both boys shot a friendly smile at both girls.

"Here's your notebook, Phoebe." Gerald handed it to her and gave her a wink. "I just had some notes to write down." She simply smiled and nodded in response.

Arnold bumped his elbow against Gerald's elbow. Helga saw this and squinted her eyebrow, feeling a bit annoyed. "In a hurry, football-face?"

Arnold rubbed the back of his neck and looked away from her. He wasn't comfortable with lying. "We just don't want to be out too late. Right, Gerald? Gerald? Gerald!"

"Huh, what?" Gerald had his attention on Phoebe. Both were sharing a longing gaze. "Uh, yeah, yeah." He waved him off.

Before Arnold could respond, there was a flash of lightning and a loud rumble. All of a sudden, it started pouring rain. The villagers and students started running for cover. Phoebe covered herself with her notebook, and she and Helga ran to the girls cabin, while Arnold and Gerald headed for the boys cabin. The lightning and thunder ravaged through the village. Out the windows, all villagers and students and teachers could see the decorations scattered all over the place and destroyed.

The storm raged on for an hour.

After the storm subsided, and after everyone took their showers, Mr. Simmons came to announce that the party was going to be rescheduled for another day. He walked out to deliver the same message to the boys.

"Ugh! My dress! And my brand new shoes!" Rhonda was sitting on her bed, extending her leg up to look at her muddy shoes. Lila sat next to her and put her hand on her shoulder.

Helga rolled her eyes and muttered to Phoebe. "What a throw pillow."

Phoebe smirked then let out a sigh. She couldn't help but feel bummed out about not spending more time with Gerald. "Goodnight, Helga." She smiled sadly and headed to her bed.

Helga walked over to the window and looked at the sky. The clouds had cleared just in time to see the sunset. She ignored her classmates' complaining and tried to enjoy it. However, out of the corner of her eye, she could see Arnold and Gerald walking out of their cabin. 'Not this again.' She nonchalantly walked out of the girls cabin, and followed the boys a good distance away. She couldn't get in earshot, but she could guess they were beginning their journey to find Arnold's parents. She looked behind her shoulder and debated on turning back to get a flashlight and a snack. She bit her lip and shrugged to herself. _'Nah, they won't go too far.'_

"Man, if we don't make it back in time and I get expelled, you're going to owe me big-time." Gerald and Arnold were walking along the rocky trail they had been on earlier that day.

Arnold ignored Gerald and reached behind his back. He brought his backpack to face him. He unzipped it and took out the notes they both took. He began to look around his surroundings to make sure he could make sense of the notes. They weren't too far along the path when they heard a rustling in the brush of the jungle. Both boys immediately stopped and turned towards the noise.

Gerald gulped loudly. "M-maybe we should just head back."

Arnold didn't answer. He suddenly became aware of the sun setting, and the darkening environment. "It's probably just a lizard or something." He squinted his eyes, trying to make something out of the brush. Suddenly, a small shape started coming towards them. It was a little girl.

"That's her, Gerald!" Arnold pointed a finger at her. She was staring at Arnold with that same expression, as if she couldn't believe it was really him.

Gerald crossed his arms. "Mmm mmm _mmm_, a little girl all alone in the dark jungle? Now I've seen everything." He relaxed a little and looked around. "What is she doing all alone anyway?"

Arnold shrugged. He turned and smirked at Gerald. "And you didn't believe me." Gerald rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure if she knows English, but I guess we're about to find out." He took a step towards the little girl.

"Arnold? What are you doing?" Gerald silently called to him, looking behind his shoulder to see if anyone was hiding and watching.

As Arnold got closer to the little girl, he could see she had a small smile on her face. She didn't seem to be afraid or shy to go up to him. Arnold knelt on one knee in front of the girl. He smiled in his usual friendly way. "Hi, little girl. What's your name?"

The little girl simply smiled, not understanding him. Arnold frowned a bit._ 'How will I ever find anything out from her?'_She began to fiddle with something in her dress pocket.

Suddenly, Arnold heard more rustling from the brush of the jungle. An older woman came into view and immediately started to rush to them.

"Adoncia! Que estas haciendo?" She waved her hand at the little girl, beckoning her to come while still walking towards them.

Before Arnold could get up, he looked back at the girl he now knew as Adoncia. His eyes went to her dress pocket. Her hand was halfway out of it, and she was clutching something. Before she stuck it back into her pocket, fearing the sight of the woman, Arnold caught a glimpse of what it was. His eyes widened and he grabbed her arm.

"Where did you get that?" He couldn't help his excitement, and unintentionally frightened Adoncia. She started to scream, and the older woman ran and grabbed her away from Arnold. She glared and yelled at him in Spanish, but stopped herself as something dawned on her.

As Arnold's heart was pounding, she stared at him for a moment longer, picked up the little girl, and quickly walked away. Arnold could hear her reprimanding Adoncia.

"Wait, come back!" Arnold started to walk after them, but Gerald grabbed his arm. The older woman started to run away, disappearing into the trees.

"Arnold, keep it down! What's going on? Why was that lady yelling?" He looked into his best friend's eyes and saw desperation.

"I need to talk to that girl! She has something, and I need to know why and how she got it! Come on!" Arnold pulled his arm away and started to run after them.

"Wait, man! Talk to me, what thing? You don't know where they're going!" Gerald raced after him.

Helga, who had stayed behind out of sight, saw and heard the commotion. She also started to run after them. _'Criminy, what are they doing?'_

They all ran after each other, off the trail, and into the jungle. Helga looked back over her shoulder, quickly contemplating and deciding how far she would go after them.

"Adoncia!" Arnold ran and called after the little girl.

"Man, I can't keep up! Give me a flashlight!" Gerald was running after him, trying not to trip on anything in the rapidly darkening jungle.

_'Ugh, these idiots.'_ Helga was silently fuming, and running after them without being seen or heard.

Not stopping, Arnold reached at his back, opened his backpack, grabbed a flashlight, and tossed one to Gerald behind him. It was getting harder for Arnold to keep up with the older woman and Adoncia as the sun was quickly disappearing and it was getting hard to see. He ran faster and faster, his feet pounding on the earth beneath him. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, but he pushed farther. After what seemed forever, in reality ten minutes, he finally saw the older woman with Adoncia and pushed himself harder.

"Arnold!" Gerald called, gasping for breath.

He looked over his shoulder. "We can't stop, Gerald!" He grunted and fought the ache in his side and legs.

But suddenly, as he faced forward, Arnold came to a halt. He had just registered that when he looked over his shoulder, he had seen a figure behind Gerald. He quickly spun around as Gerald stopped beside him, almost running into him. Gerald leaned over and put his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

"Someone's coming!" Arnold pointed his flashlight in front of him and then heard an aggravated grunt.

Helga was blinded by the sudden bright light and didn't see them in time. She ran into both boys head-on.

_"AGHH!"_ All three fell to the ground. The boys sat up and rubbed their heads, and their eyes widened at the sight of her. _"HELGA?"_

Helga quickly got up and brushed herself off. She bit her lip._ 'Quick! Think of something!'_"Uh, what? You think you're the only ones who can have adventures?"

Not knowing what to say, Gerald and Arnold both got up and also brushed themselves off. All three stayed silent as they all caught their breath. After a few minutes, Arnold and Gerald looked at each other and back to Helga.

Arnold spoke first. "Helga, you have to go back to your cabin."

But before either Helga, or Gerald, could say something, she stared past them with her mouth agape. She slowly walked forward. "What _is_ this place?"

Gerald and Arnold turned around and, at the sight, their eyes and mouths widening, dropped their flashlights.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

All three students stared in amazement. In front of them stood what looked to be an abandoned temple. It was quite small for a temple, and looked to be very old. Arnold was at a loss for words. He quickly picked up his flashlight and shone it on the building. His heart sank. The symbol of the green eyes was nowhere to be found. After a few silent minutes, Gerald picked up his flashlight and stepped forward.

"Arnold...is..is this it?" He turned to face Arnold. "I mean..this isn't on the map. And it looks ancient." Arnold didn't answer. He still looked ahead.

Helga looked to Gerald, then to Arnold, then back to Gerald. "Criminy, is it _WHAT?_" Helga hadn't lost her normal angry tone. She stomped over to Gerald and poked a finger in his chest. "This BETTER not be one of your stupid legends, Geraldo!"

Gerald waved her off. He pressed the question. "Is it, Arnold?"

Arnold looked down and shook his head sadly. He knew this was too close to be it, but couldn't help to hope. He suddenly remembered Adoncia. He needed to find her.

Gerald walked over to him, and put his hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it, man. We've still got the rest of the night to look for it."

Helga was growing frustrated. "What are you two morons talking about? What 'it'?"

Arnold closed his eyes and sighed. He turned to face Helga. "You need to go back to your cabin, Helga. This is between me and Gerald." He wouldn't normally answer her in a harsh tone, but he found himself on edge.

Helga scowled at him. "_I'm_ not going _any_where." She crossed her arms and stood her ground.

Before Arnold could argue, they heard a cry. He and Gerald immediately walked toward the sound. Helga hesitated.

"Are you two serious?" Neither of the boys answered her. As she realized she was going to be left alone in the dark jungle, she quickly huffed and ran to catch up. She started to walk along with them.

Gerald looked to Arnold and whispered, "It sounds like it's coming from behind the temple."

After a second of thought, they both nodded to each other, ignoring Helga's soft whimpers of fear, and silently walked forward.

Helga gulped and continued to follow them. _'I swear, if I die..'_

They all crept along the side of the temple with Gerald leading. Arnold didn't notice Helga holding onto his shirt as she walked behind him. She looked up at the temple's wall. It was indeed old, and had many cracks in the stones. She wondered what was holding it together.

They slowly turned the corner only to find there was no one in sight. Gerald and Arnold shared confused looks. Arnold shone his flashlight on the darkest part of the wall. It was an opening.

_'An entrance!'_ They heard the cry once more. Arnold furrowed his brows. _'It must be Adoncia.'_

Helga gripped the back of Arnold's shirt at the cry. She scowled at them both. "What are we going to do now, geniuses?" She narrowed her eyes as she realized the boys' intent. They were about to walk into the temple itself. She suddenly let go of Arnold's shirt and jumped back. "Ohhh, no! No, no, no, no! There's _NO_ way I'm going into an old, abandoned temple with you two idiots!"

Arnold and Gerald shared a look. They raised their eyebrows to each other, thinking the same thing, and looked back at Helga.

"I _can't_ believe I'm going into an old, abandoned temple with you two idiots." Helga was now walking behind Arnold in the temple, terrified. They had just walked into the entrance. She looked up at the walls and, from the light shining from Arnold and Gerald's flashlights, saw spiders everywhere. She yelped and gripped Arnold's flannel shirt tighter, bumping closer into him.

Arnold shifted his shoulders, trying to make her loosen her grip. "Shh! Don't be such a scaredy cat, Helga."

She scowled at him, but lowered her voice. "I wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for you two morons!"

Arnold was getting annoyed and frustrated by Helga. He looked over his shoulder at her with a scowl of his own. "I _told_ you to go back to your cabin! It's not my fault you didn't listen to me!"

Gerald spun around and beamed his flashlight into both of their faces. He tried to keep his voice down. "Guys, stop fighting! I can see a light up ahead."

Arnold and Helga peered over Gerald's shoulders. "Gerald, turn your flashlight off for a minute." He did so, and Arnold also could make out a dim light. "It looks like it's coming off of a-"

"Fire," they all said at the same time.

They all slowly started to walk toward the dim light. They could hear their footsteps echoing from the walls of the old temple. From the inside, the temple didn't look abandoned. There looked to be new markings on the walls.

_'I hope this place doesn't cave us in.'_ Gerald suddenly thought. He glanced behind his back to make sure Arnold and Helga were okay. He turned back forward, and continued walking.

Helga was now walking with her arm linked with Arnold's. Somewhere past her fear, her heart was fluttering at the closeness. Arnold couldn't help but also feel a few butterflies.

_'STOP!'_ they both thought. They glanced at each other and caught each other's eyes. They quickly looked away and started to blush.

_'This is NOT the time.'_ Arnold shook his head.

_'Snap out of it, Helga!'_ She bit her lip.

They both came out of their short reverie at the sound of the cry, now distinctly that of a girl's. Gerald looked back at Arnold and signaled for him, to turn off his flashlight. The light was now becoming brighter, and they could smell smoke. They could also hear the crackling sound of the fire. With even slower steps, they crept towards the light. They were near the center of the temple. With only a few steps before rounding a corner, they could hear a woman's voice. They all froze. The woman was speaking in Spanish. She sounded angry.

All three kids stood silently behind the corner and out of view as they heard her speak. Arnold was desperately hoping she was alone. They all then heard a softer voice. It was Adoncia's voice.

"Pero porque, mama?" Adoncia sniffled.

"Shh, shh. Olvidate de eso." Her mother said.

Without warning to Gerald or Helga, Arnold stepped forward, rounding the corner. Before the woman could react, Arnold quickly put his hands to show he meant no harm. Gerald and Helga also walked around the corner behind Arnold. Adoncia hid behind her mother.

Arnold remembered scaring her with his excitement. He knelt down in front of the woman. "Uh...no speak English?" The woman didn't answer. She glared at him with furrowed eyebrows. He sighed, but didn't give up. "Uhm..." He pointed to Adoncia, "Her pocket?" He reached for his pocket to try to show Adoncia's mother what he meant. The woman once again didn't answer, but kept glaring at him.

Helga then knelt down beside Arnold. He looked at her, completely confused. She didn't look at him, but pointed to her chest. "Helga." She then put her hand on Arnold's chest. "Arnold." The woman looked curiously at Helga.

The woman then suddenly answered, "Lorenda."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"My name is Lorenda." She said in a thick accent.

"_You speak English?_" Arnold, Helga, and Gerald said at the same time. Gerald sat down beside Helga and Arnold.

She looked at them with intense eyes. Without answering, she looked behind her shoulder at Adoncia. "Mija, no tienes que tener miedo." After a moment of hesitation, Adoncia nodded, wiped and rubbed her eyes, and slowly stepped forward. She sat down beside her mother. Lorenda put her arm around her daughter, kissed her head, and turned back to face Arnold. She studied his face. She saw his eyes flitting from her to Adoncia. "You scared my daughter," she said.

Arnold noticed that there was still anger in her voice. His expression grew soft. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely. Lorenda didn't take her eyes off of him. "I didn't mean to." He then took a deep breath. "It's just..she has somethi-"

"You shouldn't be here." Lorenda said suddenly. All three of them were caught off guard.

Helga's impatience overcame her. "Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey!" She was now standing up, her fists clenching and unclenching. "Listen, lady. We're trying to be polite here! You can either talk to us, or n-"

"Helga." She looked at Arnold. He was looking up at her with a look that said, _'Please.'_ She huffed and sat back down. She brought her knees up to her chest.

Lorenda's tone and expression were unchanging. She kept her eyes on Arnold and spoke directly to him. "I know who you are. I know why you came here."

All three widened their eyes. Helga and Gerald looked to Arnold, anticipating his reaction.

When she could see he was at a loss for words, Lorenda spoke again. "I knew your parents," she half-smiled at Arnold. His eyes grew wider.

"You _did_?" He said excitedly. He scooted closer to Lorenda and Adoncia, and sat criss-crossing his legs.

_'I _knew_ she had something to do with them!' _Helga and Gerald glanced at each other. Gerald already knew what happened to Miles and Stella. Helga only knew they never came back.

Lorenda smirked at Arnold. "They came to our village often. I was sixteen the first time I met them." She pictured their first meeting and smiled at the memory. "Your father had just been injured. He seemed to be injured a lot," she laughed again. Everyone seemed to settle down, and got comfortable. Adoncia was simply observing Arnold. Lorenda let her memory take over.

* * *

><p>A sixteen-year-old Lorenda was walking back from feeding animals in the summer heat when she saw them. Miles had his arm around Stella as she helped him walk. They were both sweating profusely. He looked like he was bleeding from his head, and was about to pass out. They both spotted Lorenda.<p>

"Hola, amiga! Puedes ayudarnos, por favor?" Stella had waved and called out to her frantically.

Lorenda ran as fast as she could, and got a doctor to help. She went back to the village to get water for them. On her way back, she saw them enter the small doctor's office, and stood outside, waiting for them. She heard Stella's worried voice, and Miles' groans of pain. She peeked through the window and watched Stella. When she came out of the doctor's office a short time later, she saw Lorenda and smiled brightly at her. She walked towards Lorenda and gave her a hug. Lorenda was taken aback.

Confused, Lorenda asked, "Todo esta bien, senora?"

Stella stepped back, and with the same kind smile, nodded. She expressed her deep thanks for her help. "Si usted necesitas algo, por favor, dime." With that Stella walked back into the doctor's office.

Coming out of her reverie, Lorenda realized she was tearing up. "I had never seen anyone look at someone the way your mother looked at your father." She squeezed Adoncia, who had fallen asleep in her lap. Arnold smiled. He knew his parents loved each other. He was glad to hear it from some one else who saw them together. "I found out later that your father's injuries weren't very serious. He was climbing mountains again by that weekend."

Arnold smirked. _'Nothing could keep him away from his adventures.'_ His smile faded at that thought. Gerald and Helga stayed silent.

_'This can't be a good idea.'_ Gerald thought. He was worried for his best friend.

_'This conversation isn't going to be ending happily.' _Helga bit her lip.

Arnold was mesmerized. He had never heard this story. He thought of his mother smiling. He wished he could see the smile Lorenda was talking about. He reached behind his back and took out the picture of his parents from his backpack. He looked at it and couldn't help but smile. He tried to picture them in the present time. _'How different are they now? Are they alive? Is she going to tell me?'_ Trying to keep from hoping too much, he handed the picture to Lorenda.

As Lorenda studied it, she spoke. "They taught me English. That was what I wanted. No matter how busy they were, they always made time to help me learn." She smiled sadly. "They were always so kind," she said in a soft, almost whispered voice. "You see, your parents are very good people. I'm sure your grandfather told you many stories about the-"

"You know Grandpa?" Arnold suddenly interrupted her. His eyes were bright. _'What else does she know?'_

Lorenda laughed again. "I met him at your parents' wedding. He must have told a million stories about your father that day."

Arnold smiled. _'That's grandpa.'_ Suddenly, something registered in his mind. He was thinking back to what she had just stated. His eyes almost popped out of their sockets, and he let out a loud gasp. _"You see, your parents _are_ very good people."_He jumped up in excitement. He let out gasps and was walking back and forth. He didn't know what to do with himself. "ARE?" He suddenly shouted. He started to jump around. Gerald and Helga vaguely thought of his "I'm crazy" dancing moment with Harold last year.

Adoncia awoke with a jolt and let out a worried cry. Then, it suddenly dawned on Lorenda. She didn't realize what she had just said. The same realization had hit Gerald and Helga. They all stood up, worried about Arnold and his reaction.

"Arnold, listen to me," Lorenda tried to calm him down.

He was pacing back and forth, seeming to be fighting internally. _'I'm about to find out what happened. The truth. This is what you've been waiting for.'_ After a few minutes, he was ready. He took a deep breath as he braced himself for the truth. "Lorenda..." he swallowed hard, "do you know..what happened to them?"

Lorenda was slowly starting to breathe heavily. After a few moments, she spoke in the same angry tone she first spoke to them in. "You and your friends need to leave, Arnold." She turned her head away from them.

Arnold almost shouted. "No! You know what happened to them! Tell me!" Arnold was clenching his teeth. "I've had to go practically my whole life without them. You might be the only one who can tell me. _Please_, Lorenda," he pleaded.

Lorenda slowly turned her head back to Arnold. She glanced at Helga and Gerald, who shifted their weight uncomfortably.

Seeing the desperation in Arnold's eyes, Lorenda silently sighed and reached into Adoncia's dress pocket. She took out what Arnold had seen earlier that night. It was a necklace of the Green Eyes.


	15. Chapter 14

Sorry for such a long absence! I want to thank everyone for the kind words, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. :)

* * *

><p>Chapter 14<p>

"Green Eyes?" Helga asked.

Arnold looked over his shoulder. "They're the good guys," he answered, smiling brightly. Helga melted inside, but furrowed her unibrow. Arnold turned back to Lorenda. "Right?"

She nodded and smiled, "Yes."

"Can I?" He reached his hand out. Lorenda handed the necklace to him without saying a word. She put her arm around Adoncia and smiled at her.  
>Helga and Gerald huddled around Arnold to get a look at the necklace. Not knowing the significance, Helga still furrowed her unibrow. Meanwhile, Gerald placed his hand on Arnold's shoulder.<p>

'_This must be their symbol_,' Gerald thought. He couldn't imagine how hard this must be for his best friend.

No one said a word. The only sound in the center of the temple was the sound of the crackling fire. They all waited for Arnold to speak first. He knew this, but couldn't get words out. He was overwhelmed knowing that he was holding a deeply sacred item. His mind raced with worry and concern, but also newfound hope. He felt closer to his parents, despite still not knowing new information of their whereabouts. '_But they're alive._' He closed his eyes and made a fist, squeezing the necklace. He looked up at Lorenda.

"What happened to them?" He looked down again, clenching and unclenching his jaw.

Helga and Gerald shifted their weights nervously, not exactly knowing what to do. They weren't sure if this was a conversation they were meant to be a part of. Helga looked to Gerald, and he simply shrugged. Arnold seemed to have forgotten their presence. Lorenda motioned her head to the wall behind them. They sat down quietly, and braced themselves for Lorenda's answer.

She stepped forward, and placed her hand on Arnold's shoulder. "Please listen carefully, Arnold. I won't repeat anything I say."

Arnold furrowed his brows, but stayed silent. After a moment, he nodded, sat down, as did Lorenda and Adoncia, and waited for her to continue. He brought his knees to his chest. He was nervous and afraid, but excited. He idly thought what his parents were doing at that moment. He observed Lorenda's expressions. She seemed to struggle with an internal conflict.

Nonetheless, she took a deep breath, and started her story.

"I used to want to be just like them. I wanted to see the places they went to, and helped people the way they did," she smiled slightly at her memories. "So one day, I decided that I would follow them," she pictured them running ahead, and herself, trying to quietly keep up. "I knew I shouldn't have. I knew it was very dangerous, but they were always so brave," she was looking past Arnold now, her memories taking over. "They saved so many people. Both the Green Eyes, and people of many different villages," her smiled faded. "I saw what happened to them. It was a great mistake to have followed, but also the greatest thing to happen to me." When Lorenda saw the confused faces, she continued, "That's how I met Adoncia's father. He was a Green Eye."

Arnold and Gerald gasped, while Helga was still a little behind and confused. She bit her tongue. '_What the heck is this lady talking about? What's a Green Eye?_'

Seeing the confusion on Helga's face, Lorenda explained the Green Eye legend. Slowly, Helga started to understand. Gerald also now understood better. Lorenda then continued with her story. Arnold waited, somewhat impatiently.

Lorenda then continued. "After your parents' wedding, I didn't see them again until after you were born, Arnold. They had just landed near the village."

Arnold immediately tensed up. He was feeling increasingly overwhelmed with the information that no one could provide him with in the past nine years.

"They had come here to save the Green Eyes. There was an illness that had taken over and had killed many of them," Lorenda said sadly.

Arnold closed his eyes. He already knew this part. He remembered when his grandfather had read it in Miles' journal. '_Their last mission_.'

"Of course, I didn't know this at the time," Lorenda continued. "I thought perhaps your parents were here to do some more exploring. And I wanted to be a part of it," she cleared her throat, and situated Adoncia in her lap. Adoncia had once again fallen fast asleep. Lorenda ran her fingers through her daughter's hair and continued speaking. "So, I had made the decision to follow them. They had told me they needed to get ingredients for something, which I later realized was for the antidote. I decided to stay back until they needed to make their big delivery. Little did I know, things were going to get very bad." Lorenda looked up and saw that the three children were watching her and listening to her intently. She took another deep breath, knowing that this would be very difficult for Arnold to hear.

Again, she cleared her throat and focused on the fire in front of her. "They had just passed through my village to get more water before their journey to deliver the antidote. I knew this was my chance, so I also prepared. I was very excited, and I did not know what to expect," she recalled. "They had just disappeared into the jungle, and I followed as quietly as I could. They seemed to be in a rush, and the farther and deeper into the jungle we got, the more difficult it was to keep up," she was slowing fading into her memories. "Soon, I was running after them, pushing branches out of my way," she was now looking past the fire, her memories had taken over again. She could see Miles and Stella running ahead of her. They were racing so fast, knowing exactly where they needed to go. Lorenda remembered feeling lost despite not being alone. She wasn't far behind, her feet pounding on the ground as she ran. "It seemed to take forever, but finally, we made it. We made it to a temple not unlike this one," she paused. She wanted to let the information sink in Arnold's mind.

He was looking at her with serious eyes. He tried to picture what she was describing. He tried to recreate the scenery and imagined his parents running in front of him. He was trying to see it through Lorenda's eyes. Once again, he completely forgot about Gerald and Helga's presence. They were also listening intently, trying to imagine what was going through Arnold's mind. He didn't look away from Lorenda as she continued.

"It was in better condition, of course," she continued. She remembered that she had hid in the jungle as Miles stepped forward to place the antidote on a stone. He had looked over his shoulder to wink at Stella. At that same moment, Lorenda had idly noticed that no one was in the temple. There was not a sound to be heard. "At the time, I hadn't known much about the Green Eyes. I knew they were secretive, but it didn't cross my mind that your parents could be delivering something to them." Her eyes grew sad as she remembered what happened next. She took a long pause before continuing. "I was going to make myself known to them there. I was going to apologize for following, but being proud of myself that I had made it that far. But before I could, someone had come out of the brush. And then two people behind. Then, five more," she dropped her voice. "It was an ambush. They were hiding, as if they were waiting for your parents," she didn't look up from the fire, but Lorenda could feel the sudden fear that had gripped Arnold.

"_La Sombra_," he whispered. Lorenda simply nodded. He had dropped his knees so he was sitting cross-legged. He had again, tensed up, his mind racing. He almost asked Lorenda to stop, not wanting to know what or who hurt his parents. His breathing grew heavy with concern.

Helga gulped and grew worried for Arnold. Hey eyes grew wide, and she put her hand over her mouth. _'Oh, my sweet prince...'_

Gerald looked down at the temple's floor, at a loss for words. He had no idea how he could comfort Arnold.

When no one said anything, Lorenda went on. "That day was the last time I saw them," she said sadly, her voice almost a whisper and her eyes tearing up. "They were being taken away. I then found out that I'm not very brave. I ran away," Lorenda whispered, tears flowing from her eyes. Arnold, Helga, and Gerald were at a loss for words. They both looked at Arnold, wondering what was going on in his head.

Arnold couldn't help but feel a sense of anger at Lorenda. '_She left them?_' After a few moments of angry silence on his part, Arnold had somewhat calmed down. He had reasoned that she was a young, frightened girl, and did what any other young, frightened girl would have done.

He looked at her with a softened expression, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. She felt ashamed, blaming herself.

Adoncia woke up then, bringing everyone out of their reveries.

Suddenly, Arnold got his backpack off of his back. He turned his flashlight on and unzipped his bag. He slowly took out Miles' journal. He opened it, and turned to the map. He handed it to Lorenda. He didn't see Gerald raise his eyebrows.

Lorenda stayed silent. Adoncia was peering at the map, but didn't know what it meant. Helga also tried to peer at it nonchalantly.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into," Lorenda sighed, as if in defeat.

"Do you mean that you know where they are?" Arnold asked severely. His heart was pounding, and his palms were beginning to sweat.

Lorenda didn't answer. She kept her eyes on the map. She saw the big red "X" Arnold had drawn. After a moment's thought, she made a decision. She looked up at Arnold. "Meet me here tomorrow night. I will take you to someone who can tell you where they are. His name is Eduardo."


	16. UPDATE

Hi, everyone! Just wanted to say that I might delete my FF. But not to worry! I will definitely still be writing this story on my deviantart. There's still much left to write on my version of TJM. :)

andrearory deviantart com

I'll still update here for the time being. :P


	17. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Arnold froze. _'Eduardo.'_ His eyes were wide, and he started to breathe heavy. He quickly tried to think of everything he'd heard about Eduardo. From what he had read in his father's journal to what his grandfather had told him. _'He's a good guy. But where has he been? Has he tried to help mom and dad?'_

"Ahh, you've heard of him," Lorenda noted. "I thought you had. He was almost always with your parents," she glanced away, as if keeping something from Arnold.

Arnold nodded to her. "He was the one who asked my parents to come back for their last mission," he then also looked away. _'How does she know where he is?'_ He looked at Lorenda suspiciously and slightly squinted his eyes.

Sensing Arnold's doubt, she suddenly lowered her voice. "He's in hiding," she glanced at Helga and Gerald before looking back at Arnold. "I will take you to him. But Arnold, you must come alone-" Helga and Gerald both protested, interrupting her.

"I don't think so!" Helga snapped.

Gerald scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I don't know about that."

Arnold turned his attention to them. "Guys, I appreciate it, but I have to do this. If Lorenda says I have to go by myself, then I will. I need to find them on my own. I'll be okay," he smiled encouragingly to them.

They both let it go for the time being. Gerald silently promised himself to talk Arnold out of it before tomorrow night. Helga rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath.

Arnold turned back to Lorenda, and smiled apologetically. She smiled back, and turned her attention to Adoncia who was slowly drifting off to sleep again.

The room was silent as everyone thought about the past conversations. Arnold suddenly had an idea.

_'If I can get Gerald and Helga to leave...maybe I can ask Lorenda to take me to Eduardo tonight!'_ He glanced over his shoulder to Helga and Gerald. They both had their eyes on Lorenda, now questioning her intentions. He turned back and kept his eyes on the fire. _'But how to get them out of here...'_

He debated with himself, while asking Lorenda for more stories of Miles and Stella. As she spoke, he made up different scenarios to get rid of Helga and Gerald so he could find Eduardo. He felt bad going behind their backs, but he felt that it would be worth it. _'They'll understand after I find mom and dad. If I can just talk to Eduardo myself, I could get him to tell me what I need to know about them.'_ He glanced at Helga and Gerald occasionally as Lorenda told her stories, but nothing changed. They didn't seem to want to leave any time soon.

They spent the next couple of hours listening to Lorenda tell her stories about Miles and Stella. Arnold would laugh occasionally, but would then lose himself in his thoughts. _'How much longer can I keep this up? It'll be too late to go out by myself soon...'_ He let out a frustrated sigh. He knew the sun would be coming up, and he would have no choice but to wait until the following night.

After a couple of more stories from Lorenda, Arnold finally got his chance.

Helga had suddenly stood up. "Sorry to break up this heartfelt story-time, but if we don't get back soon, we're never going to hear the end of it from Wartz and Mr. Simmons," she put her hands on her hips. "Besides," she continued, "if I don't get some shut-eye before our next tour, you're all going to have to deal with it." She looked at Lorenda grumpily, "Are you going to walk us back, lady?"

Gerald stretched and also stood up. He looked to Arnold when he didn't move. "Helga's right, man. We need to leave, or we're going to have detention until our high school graduation."

Arnold bit his lip. _'This might be my last chance.'_ He made up his mind. "You two go on outside. I have a few more questions I need to ask Lorenda. _Privately_," he emphasized.

Helga scoffed. "I don't think so, football-head." She had her usual scowl across her features. "We have to go _now._"

Arnold got up, but stood his ground. "It'll be just a few minutes. We'll be right behind you guys, okay?" He turned to Lorenda. "Will you show us the way back?"

She stood up, carrying Adoncia. She nodded, "Yes, but your friends can go on ahead and walk West."

Before Helga could protest, Gerald reluctantly answered, "Alright. But don't blame us if you're caught by Wartz," he said jokingly, but Arnold knew he meant it.

Helga crossed her arms and squinted her eyes at Arnold. After a moment of hesitation, she started to stomp away.

Arnold simply smiled at them, "I'll be out in a few minutes."

As they were heading out, Gerald suddenly turned around. "Uh...which way's West?"

Lorenda fought back the urge to roll her eyes at him, but pointed him the right direction.

He and Helga walked out slowly, giving Arnold one last look before going out of view.

When he could no longer hear the echo of their footsteps, Arnold turned to Lorenda.

She looked at him curiously. "What did you want to know, Arnold?"

-

Helga and Gerald stepped out of the temple to see the sun faintly starting to rise. They walked in silence as they both thought over everything that had happened. They had found out things Arnold may not have ever told them. They both felt a bit intrusive, but were glad to have been there for Arnold.

_'I hope he comes out soon,'_ Helga thought. _'Oh, the wretched agony you must be feeling.'_ She instinctively reached for her collar, but stopped herself. She wished she could be alone so she could burst out her feelings to her locket. She scowled at Gerald for ruining what could have been a great soliloquy.

Gerald's mind was occupied with thoughts of his best friend also. _'Who would have known his parents would be alive after all?'_

They walked forward, going around the temple. They looked up at it, noting all of the details. There were cracks in its stones, and vines growing along the side of it.

After a few minutes, Gerald idly thought about Helga's presence. He then remembered that she wasn't exactly invited to his and Arnold's adventure. _'Why _does_ she almost always pop up out of nowhere?'_ He suddenly thought about everything that happened earlier that summer with the FTi. He remembered waiting for the bus and Arnold at the FTi tower when he saw Helga behind him.

"What was she doing there anyway, man?" He had asked him a few days later. He remembered Arnold blushing at the question.

"Well...she actually helped us big-time, Gerald." Arnold answered him quickly. He wouldn't say more on the subject after that.

Gerald had let it go at the time, but now he wondered if there was something Arnold could see in Helga that maybe he couldn't. _'Maybe she _is_ nice on the inside.'_ He quickly scoffed at the idea. _'Helga G. Pataki nice? Good one, Gerald,'_ he chuckled to himself. After a moment, he gave it some more thought. _'Hm...but maybe..'_ He turned to see Helga scowling at the ground. _'Nah. No way.'_

He let out a frustrated sigh at the nagging question. _'But what was she doing there? And why was she following us?'_

Suddenly, there was a faint scream sounding like it was coming from the old temple. The sound jolted Gerald and Helga out of their thoughts.

He and Helga looked at each other, both frightened. "ARNOLD!"

They immediately started to run back to the temple. They raced past the brush of the jungle, to the back of the temple, and went into the entrance. They ran down the old temple's hall, their breathing becoming hard. They could hear their footsteps echoing off the walls. Both were starting to sweat and their hearts pounded in their chests.

_'Criminy, what did he get himself into now?'_ Helga raced forward, her concern growing stronger with every step.

They rounded the corner, expecting to see Arnold in trouble. They were both left stunned and looked at each other, panicking.

Lorenda, Adoncia, and Arnold were nowhere to be found.

_-Before, at the temple-_

"What did you want to know, Arnold?" Lorenda asked.

He scratched the back of his neck. "Well...I guess I was just wondering if maybe you could take me to see Eduardo today. Before taking me back to the cabins." Sensing Lorenda's response, he continued before she could answer, "I mean, I know I could get in trouble, but if I found my parents after talking with him, I wouldn't care. Please. Will you take me, Lorenda?"

She sighed, mentally debating on it. After a few seconds contemplating, she looked at Arnold and half-smiled. "Okay. But let's hurry, we don't want your friends getting worried. Adoncia needs to sleep well also."

Arnold smiled brightly, "Thanks, Lorenda!"

On their way out, they could see that it was dawning. Arnold quickly thought of how much time he would have. _'Everyone's going to be waking up soon. We'll have to hurry.'_

He didn't have much time to think about his punishment if he were late. As soon as they walked out of the temple's entrance, they saw a figure coming out of the jungle.

"NO!" Lorenda screamed, clutching Adoncia. "Arnold, RUN!" She yelled at him and quickly started to run away herself.

Startled and confused, Arnold stood frozen for a second. He quickly snapped out of it and started to run, heading in the direction he originally came with Gerald and Helga.

"Get them!" He heard a strange voice command. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw more figures emerging from the brush of the jungle. He didn't make it far before unfamiliar arms grabbed him and picked him up. The strange man carrying him started to run back to the brush.

"Hurry, into the truck!" Another unfamiliar voice barked. "You! Get the others!"

Arnold then saw darkness. Someone had put a blindfold over his eyes and were tying his hands to his back. "LET ME GO!" He struggled against the rough arms against him, pushing him. He then heard Lorenda and Adoncia scream in the distance.

He continued to fight against the arms around him when they sat him down on a hard bench. A few seconds later, he heard more people and a door slam. He then heard crying. He knew he wasn't alone. "Lorenda?" His heart was pounding. "Lorenda, is that you?"

"Uh-huh," he heard her whimper. "Arnold, I'm so sorry. I should have made you leave," she cried.

Arnold continued to struggle at the rope against his hands. "Who are these people?"

He heard Lorenda sniffle, "La Sombra."


	18. Chapter 16

Hi, everyone! Again, I want to thank everyone for the super kind words. You're very sweet. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

><p>Chapter 16<p>

"ARNOLD!" Helga cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled even louder. "FOOTBALL-HEAD!"

It had been ten minutes since Gerald and Helga had returned to the temple to find their classmate missing. They immediately began yelling his and Lorenda's name. The sun had risen and gave them light to see. It also meant their fellow classmates had just woken up.

Helga was searching outside one side of the temple, and Gerald was on the other. Her concern and annoyance grew with every passing minute.

"ARNOOOOOLD!" Her throat was beginning to ache. "Stupid football-head!" She spoke to herself. She looked around frantically through the trees. "Can't take my eyes off of you for one minute without you screwing something up! You better not have gone to look for Edua-whoever by yourself!" Her scowl softened suddenly. She looked to her left, then to her right. When the coast was clear, she took out her locket from her dress. "Oh, Arnold! What danger has befallen you now? To what distance will you go to look for your parents? Leaving me behind, most lachrymose, and going on your adventure all alone! Not knowing the dour state your absence leaves me in! To be eagerly waiting to be in your presence again! What I would give to be walking by your side at this very moment, to be giving you the comfort and reassurance you need!" She was holding her locket to her chest, when she suddenly heard a voice.

"Helga?" Gerald raised an eyebrow. He had just walked around the corner to see Helga twirling around, speaking to herself.

Helga immediately shoved her locket down her dress and spun around. "DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT, _EVER _AGAIN!"

Gerald rolled his eyes and dismissed what he had seen, and spoke with urgency. "We need to head back. Everyone must be noticing that we're gone by now."

After realizing he was right, Helga took one last look through the trees. She turned, nodded to Gerald, and began to run. With Gerald running beside her, she began to think about Mr. Simmons' reaction after they tell him one of his students has gone missing.

_'Criminy. As if he isn't enough of a throw pillow.'_ She then turned her thoughts back to Arnold. _'Arnold, where could you be? What's happened?'_

Gerald's mind was also on Arnold. _'Man, how could you do this to us? You should've known better than to go on your own!'_ He shook off his anger. _'I just hope you know what you're doing. I hope you're okay.'_

They made it out of the jungle and onto the trail. They continued to run until the cabins came into view. They both immediately stopped, avoiding the impending trouble they were going to be in. They saw villagers outside beginning to prepare for the day.

"What do you think Wartz is going to do to us?" Helga wondered aloud, mostly to herself.

Gerald sighed loudly. "Nothing compared to what my dad's going to do."

They both turned to each other and smirked. Slowly, they stepped forward. They eyed the adults' cabin with dread.

"Well, let's just get this over with, tall-hair boy," Helga sighed. She marched to the cabin with Gerald following closely behind. She stopped a few steps from the door. Her hand trembled as she reached out. She looked over her shoulder to see Gerald half-smiling at her. He stepped up beside her. She looked forward, dreading what was coming next. After a moment, she took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

_-Meanwhile-_

"La Sombra?" Fear spread through Arnold. "It can't be! How did they know I would be here? How did they know I would go to that temple?" He heard Lorenda crying, not able to speak through her sobs. He then heard muffled voices. He heard more doors slam, and suddenly felt a jerk. He felt like he was moving.

_'We must be in the truck.'_ As he involuntarily slammed into the truck's backdoor as the truck sped forward, he continued to fight against the rope binding his hands. He froze suddenly. _'Wait!' _His eyes widened underneath the blindfold.

"Lorenda! Gerald and Helga must be looking for us right now! They're going to see we're gone, and they'll have to go tell Mr. Simmons! They're going to come find us, Lorenda!" He smiled at the realization, but could still hear Lorenda crying. Confused, he asked, "Did you hear me? We're going to be okay, Lorenda!"

Lorenda shook her head, though Arnold couldn't see, and fought to speak clearly. "Arnold, someone in the village is working for La Sombra." She sniffled and cleared her throat. "That must be why they were waiting for you."

As Lorenda cried harder, Arnold let the bitter reality sink in. _'She has to be right. But they're still going to look for us. They have to!'_

Before Arnold could voice his thoughts, he felt the truck jerk to a stop. "AGH!" He fell forward, landing on the truck's floor hard. He groaned painfully as he struggled to sit up. He heard the door open, and felt the same rough arms around him as before.

He grunted, "Let me go!" He heard a loud laugh as he was pulled out of the truck and shoved forward. He stumbled around blindly. He suddenly felt cool air around him. _'Did I just step inside a building?' _His heart was pounding in his chest. He heard Lorenda somewhere behind yell at the men grabbing her.

"Suéltame! ADONCIA!" She screamed desperately.

"Lorenda! It's going to be okay!" Arnold yelled, not entirely sure if she could hear him. After walking a few steps, the man pushing him forward stopped suddenly. The man made Arnold get on his knees. He took the blindfold off, and Arnold squinted in the sudden brightness. Lorenda was brought beside him and also made to get on her knees.

Arnold looked around and saw he was in what seemed like a palace. There were nice furnishings, and he wondered if he was even in San Lorenzo anymore. He vaguely thought of Mr. Redmen's house. He looked ahead and saw a man casually drinking tea on a white chair.

The man looked like he was middle aged and looked to be American. He was dressed as a tourist. He sipped his tea a few times before standing up and smiling at Arnold. He opened his arms as if he was going to hug Arnold as he spoke.

"Welcome! So glad you could make it," the man said happily. When Arnold and Lorenda continued to struggle against the men holding them down the man continued. "Oh, yes. Sorry about that," the man chuckled. "My men can be a bit rough sometimes." He smiled and nodded to his guards to let them go.

Arnold nor Lorenda relaxed. They tensed up even more.

"Now," the man continued, "I have to say, my oh my. Arnold, you have certainly grown up."

Arnold looked at him with harsh eyes. "Who are you? What do you want?"

The man smiled bigger. "Oh, I'm someone who's been waiting a long time to meet you, Arnold," he replied. "I'm La Sombra. Maybe you've heard of me," he laughed as Arnold scowled. "You know, you look just like your parents," he added in a condescending tone.

Arnold was immediately angered by this. "WHERE ARE THEY?" he barked.

The man's smile didn't waver as he replied in a calm manner. "Ah, yes. Of course you'd want to know about them." He squinted his eyes slightly. "But before we get into that," he turned away from them and continued, "there is something I need you to do for me." He started to wave his hands around as he spoke. "A mission, you could say. I need you to retrieve something for me. Something I've been searching for a very long time. Something your parents stole from me."

_'Liar.'_ Arnold's expression was unchanging. "And why would I do anything for _you?_" He asked in a brave, angry tone.

La Sombra stopped walking, turned around, and his smile widened. "Arnold, do you have any idea where your parents are at this very moment?" When Arnold replied with a look of fear, he continued. "_That's _why," he replied, his tone turning menacing. He turned around again and started to walk forward.

Trying to break free from the rope binding his hands together again, Arnold barked, "I'm not going to do anything for you! I _will_free my parents!"

La Sombra chuckled darkly to himself and spun around to face Arnold. "Oh? I believe you'll take a different tone once I show you what I'm capable of." He turned around again and laughed sinisterly. He started to walk away, and then nodded to his guards, still with a smile on his face.

The guards placed the blindfolds on Lorenda and Arnold again, and started to take them out.

La Sombra abruptly spun around and put his hand up so his guards would stop for a moment. He walked up to Arnold and got close to his face, though Arnold couldn't see. "And don't worry, little Arnold! I'm sure your parents would love to have you join them!"

The last thing Arnold heard before being taken out of the building was La Sombra's dark laugh.


	19. Chapter 17

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)

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><p>Chapter 17<p>

"You _WHAT_?" Mr. Simmons' eyes looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets.

He had overslept and was behind schedule. He had been running around his cabin all morning, ignoring Principal Wartz's attempts to calm him down. He was on his way to wake up the students. He was heading to the door when he suddenly heard a knock. He rushed forward, thinking it was one of the touring guides, and was surprised to see Helga and Gerald.

"Oh my word! What happened to you two?" He stepped out of his cabin and closed the door behind him. He took a better look at the two students. Their clothes were dirty and their hair was disheveled. Helga's dress had many small tears in it from running past branches and her pigtails were messy. Gerald's hair had small twigs in it and he also had small tears in his jersey.

They immediately began to frantically explain where they had been that night and that Arnold was nowhere to be found. As they spoke at the same time and waved their hands around, Mr. Simmons' anxiety rose higher than it had ever been.

"Th-there was a little girl! She had something that belonged to Arnold's parents, and then her mom started to scream at us! So we had to go follow her an-"

"I had to follow them, Mr. Simmons! I mean, criminy, what the heck was I supposed to do? And then this girl showed up out of nowhere, and then her mom started to talk all craz-

Before they could finish explaining what happened, Mr. Simmons immediately ran to the boys' cabin, desperately hoping Gerald and Helga were playing a cruel prank.

"What's happened?" Principal Wartz had just stepped out of the cabin when he heard the commotion. He saw Mr. Simmons running to the boys' cabin with Helga and Gerald running behind. He closed the cabin's door and immediately followed.

Mr. Simmons yelled, bursting through the door of the boys' cabin, and immediately searched for any sign of Arnold.

"ARNOLD! WHERE'S ARNOLD?" Mr. Simmons' frantically eyed each bed. He looked under bed after bed and flipped over a few of the vacant mattresses.

The boys all woke up with a jolt. They all looked around with puffy eyes, confused of what was happening.

Gerald, Helga, and Principal Wartz stood in the doorway watching Mr. Simmons.

"That's his bed over there," Eugene piped up lazily. He pointed to the bed against the window on the right side of the cabin. He then yawned and rubbed his eyes as he tried to wake up completely.

Mr. Simmons stopped flipping over a mattress. He turned his head in the direction Eugene was pointing. He walked closer to Arnold's bed and was horrified.

Arnold's bed wasn't made up and was empty. His suitcase had been zipped open and his backpack was nowhere in sight.

After a moment of dead silence, Harold started to laugh. "Aww man, he's going to be in so much trouble!"

Gerald shot him a dirty look. He was about to snap at Harold when he suddenly felt like he was being pulled out of the cabin.

"Hey!" Helga argued.

"Come with me, you two," Principal Wartz had placed his hands on their shoulders and was going to head outside. "I'm going to have to call your par-"

"No," Mr. Simmons interjected.

Principal Wartz looked at him with confusion. "Simmons, do I need to remind you that we are in a foreign environm-"

"No," Mr. Simmons repeated, interrupting Principal Wartz a second time. "We're all going home."

At this, everyone in the room gasped.

"But Mr. Simmons!" Sid started.

"Please, no!"

"All because of Arnold sneaking out?"

"Enough!" Mr. Simmons yelled. The students all looked at him with wide eyes. He looked exhausted and frantic. "Everyone, just stop. Pack your bags. We're going home!" He waved his hands as he spoke in anger. Principal Wartz looked down sadly, but quickly shook it off and stepped forward.

"Wise decision, Mr. Simmons. You all heard him. Pack your bags. We are to be leaving by tonight." He stepped closer to Mr. Simmons and whispered, "I'll go tell the tour guides we're leaving." After Mr. Simmons nodded, he walked out.

Mr. Simmons looked around at his students. He hated to see them so sad, but he didn't know what else to do.

"But what about the villagers' party?" Eugene murmured, mostly to himself.

Mr. Simmons heard him and sighed. "I'm afraid there isn't going to be one, Eugene. We're going to find Arnold and go home."

He stormed out of the cabin and slammed the door shut leaving them in a shocked, and angry, state.

_-Meanwhile-_

"_AGH!_" Arnold grunted, fighting the pain he was feeling. He had been shoved into the back of the truck again. He fell to the floor as it had jerked forward. He struggled as he tried to get back onto the bench. When he finally sat down, he leaned his head back against the truck's wall. He took a few deep breaths as he tried to think calmly. He wiped away the sweat pouring down his face with his shoulder. He stayed silent.

Lorenda was praying in Spanish and crying. "Dios, por favor, mi hija," she cried silently.

Arnold sighed and swallowed hard. _'Where are Gerald and Helga?'_ He furrowed his eyebrows as he imagined them telling Mr. Simmons what happened. He thought of the punishment Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz would give them. He also wondered if Gerald and Helga could feel that he was in danger. _'Are they going to come find us? Will they find me?'_

His thoughts then turned to his parents. He thought of them being in the same situation he was currently in nine years before. He thought of the same fear they could have been feeling, thinking about their baby son back home. _'Maybe he's holding them captive nearby!' _He hoped desperately that they were okay.

He suddenly remembered what La Sombra told him.

_"There is something I need you to do for me."_

Under the blindfold, he closed his eyes and tried to think about what it could be. _'What does he want?'_

_"Something I need you to retrieve for me. Something I've been searching for a very long time."_

Arnold opened his eyes wide and as he realized what it must be, and why La Sombra has been holding his parents captive for so many years.

_"Something your parents stole from me."_

Arnold grimaced. _'La Corazon.'_

_-At the village-_

Helga was back at the girls' cabin packing. The confrontation that had taken place a few minutes before had her seething.

"But Mr. Simmons!" Rhonda had argued. "It's not fair that the rest of us have to suffer the consequences. I'm sure we're _all _worried about Arnold, but it's just not fair!"

Nadine looked at her with a disgusted expression. _'All she thinks about is herself.'_

Mr. Simmons simply sighed. "I'm sorry, Rhonda. Pack your bags and be ready to leave by tonight." He walked out and ignored the rest of her complaints.

Rhonda was crying on her bed, not wanting to leave just yet.

Lila and Sheena had finished packing and were consoling her.

"Don't cry, Rhonda. You could always come back with your parents for vacation," Sheena smiled at her.

"I just don't understand," Lila pondered out-loud. "This just isn't like Arnold. He's always so responsible."

The other girls agreed with her, also confused with Arnold's behavior.

Helga was at her bed, absentmindedly placing her clothes in her suitcase. Her mind was preoccupied with concern about Arnold when she felt Phoebe walk up beside her.

"Helga?" She glanced back at the other girls to make sure they weren't listening. Helga raised one side of her unibrow curiously. "You were there, weren't you?" Phoebe whispered.

Helga stopped suddenly. She gulped, knowing she would have a hard time lying to Phoebe.

Phoebe continued. "You were with Arnold when he disappeared, weren't you?"

Helga stared straight ahead. She silently nodded. She let her guard down and confided in her best friend. "I'm worried, Pheebs."

-_Meanwhile_-

"Man, I can't believe Arnold would do this," Sid was throwing his clothes into his suitcase angrily. "He should have known we'd get into trouble."

"Yeah, this really bites," Stinky agreed. "But what do ya reckon he was doin'?"

Harold scowled as he overheard them. He walked over to them. "I don't know, but I'm gonna pound him when I see him again."

Gerald overheard all of them. His anger was quickly rising, but he bit his tongue. He packed his bag as quickly as he could and headed out of the cabin.

"Wait a minute," Eugene said suddenly. "Gerald, you wouldn't happen to know anything about Arnold disappearing would you?" He asked curiously.

Gerald slowly turned around to face him, but didn't speak.

"I mean," Eugene continued, "he is your best friend and all."

"Hey, that's right," Harold stomped over to Gerald. "And look at his clothes!" He pointed, his scowl growing more prominent.

"Harold's right! They're all dirty!" Sid exclaimed in agreement. The boys ganged up on Gerald.

Brainy and Curly stopped packing their bags and looked at them.

Gerald looked around at them, eying them all. He was fuming. He had a scowl of his own as he spoke. "Yeah, I went with him. And you're right, Eugene. He _is _my best friend. That's why I'm going to do whatever it takes to find him."

He eyed them angrily a moment longer and stormed out of the cabin.


	20. Chapter 18

Hope you all enjoy this chapter. :)

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><p>Chapter 18<p>

"Okay, is everyone here? Sheena, Brainy, Stinky..." Mr. Simmons was going down the list on his clipboard. He had all of the students line up with their suitcases and bags. As he was calling out names, many students muttered under their breaths in disappointment. He ignored their comments and continued to go down his list.

Gerald and Helga were growing more and more anxious as he continued. They wanted to hurry and find Arnold and make sure he was safe.

_'Come on, come on, come on...'_Gerald chanted.

_'Ugh, he's going so slow! Hurry up, you moron!'_Helga screamed internally.

"Now, boys and girls," Mr. Simmons finally finished. "We're going to have to move quickly to find Arnold. We must stay together so we won't lose anyone else. Principal Wartz will be watching from the back, and we're going to take a tour guide so we won't all get lost." A familiar tour guide stepped forward. "This is Francis," Mr. Simmons continued. "He's agreed to take us through the jungle and help find Arnold."

Francis kept his eyes on Gerald and Helga.

"Gerald, Helga?" Mr. Simmons resumed. "I need to speak with you two before we get going."

Gerald and Helga glanced nervously at each other before stepping forward to Mr. Simmons. Gerald squinted his eyes suspiciously at Francis, and Helga furrowed her unibrow. They braced themselves for whatever Mr. Simmons was going to tell them. They knew he was on edge and were going to be careful not to upset him further.

"Okay, you two. I need to know where you went with Arnold. You said something about a little girl?"

Gerald spoke before Helga could start. "Arnold was..." he glanced at Helga, "searching for something. He thought the little girl could help him."

Mr. Simmons held his hands to his chest, full of worry. "Help him with what?"

Helga bit her lip as Gerald answered. "...we're not really sure," he lied.

Mr. Simmons sighed. "And do you know this girl's name? Maybe Francis will know something about her."

Again, Francis stepped forward. His eyes were intense on them.

Gerald debated internally as he hesitated.

"Gerald? I need to know the girl's name. This is extremely important," Mr. Simmons pressed.

Helga interjected, "Adoncia. Her name's Adoncia."

Francis rose his chin a bit. "I know where to go," he spoke up.

Helga and Gerald shared a confused look.

"_You_know?" Helga snapped

Mr. Simmons immediately perked up. "Great!" He exclaimed before Francis could reply to Helga. "Will you lead us, Francis?"

A simple nod from Francis sufficed for Mr. Simmons.

"Okay, class! Let's go!"

All of the students grudgingly started to walk behind Mr. Simmons and Francis, all carrying their bags. Gerald and Helga were at the front of the line to make sure they were going in the right direction.

While Mr. Simmons was nervously chatting with Francis to calm himself, Gerald bumped Helga's elbow.

"Does he give you a weird...vibe?" Gerald lifted one eyebrow as he said this.

Helga didn't take her eyes off of Francis. She nodded and said, "Yeah. This guy's up to something."

_-Meanwhile-_

The truck jerked suddenly as it came to a stop. Arnold braced himself and didn't fall forward this time. He also braced himself as he heard the doors open. For the moment, he stopped resisting as the rough arms grabbed him and pulled him out of the truck. He felt the hot air of the jungle. He could feel his sweat dripping from his face. Unbeknownst to him, they were back at the temple. They were hiding behind some of the brush of the jungle. He heard birds chirping, bugs zipping by, and different animals making sounds in the distance. He heard Lorenda grunt as La Sombra's men took her out of the truck.

Arnold heard the men speak to each other in Spanish. He wondered what they were planning. He kept his head down and furrowed his brows as he heard another vehicle drive up near them. He heard more doors open and slam close. He heard much more men stepping forward and heard them speak in Spanish.

_'How many are there?'_he squinted his eyes under the blindfold. Suddenly, he recognized La Sombra's voice.

"Francis should be here soon," one of La Sombra's men reported.

La Sombra smiled. "I knew this brat's two friends would come back. And they brought the whole class?" As the man who was reporting nodded, La Sombra chuckled. "Those fools! This is going to be much easier than I anticipated."

Lorenda listened intently to their conversation. She gasped as she realized Helga and Gerald, and the rest of the class, were unknowingly being led into a trap. "NO!" she shouted. "Don't hurt them! They're of no use to you!"

Arnold turned his head to the sound of Lorenda's voice. "What's going on? What are you doing to her?"

"SILENCE!" La Sombra interjected. He nodded to one of his guards. "You! Take her away! She'll ruin everything. Make sure to tell her she won't ever see her daughter again if she won't shut her mouth." He took on a menacing look. He kept his eyes on Lorenda as a couple of his guards took her away as she cried.

"Don't touch me! No! ARNOLD! Don't do anything he says!" She resisted as hard as she could as the guards took her away.

"Lorenda! It'll be okay! Just wait for me, I'll find you!" Arnold began to fight against the rope binding his hands together. He grunted and tossed and turned as he tried to free his hands.

La Sombra laughed at him. "Pathetic." His voice turned playful as he continued, "Don't worry, little Arnold. You'll be reunited with your friends soon." His guards caught his attention. They all looked towards the temple. Arnold heard La Sombra chuckle. "In fact, here they come."

_-Meanwhile-_

Gerald and Helga followed along in silence. Their classmates behind them mumbled and muttered the whole way. They complained and dragged their feet in resistance. Principal Wartz looked around, seemingly oblivious. Every now and then, he'd blurt, "Back in line, mister!"

After a few minutes, Helga and Gerald started to listen intently to Mr. Simmons and Francis' conversation.

"So," Mr. Simmons started, "do you know this little girl, Francis?"

Francis kept his eyes forward and nodded. "Yes. I was friends with her mother."

Gerald and Helga shared a look. They were both skeptical of Francis' claim.

"Do you know why Arnold would follow her?" Mr. Simmons asked.

"Yes." Francis replied curtly. After a few moments of silence, he could feel that this answer wouldn't suffice for Mr. Simmons. He internally rolled his eyes and continued. "There is a legend here that Arnold may have heard about. We get that a lot with tourists who come by." His voice betrayed him, though Mr. Simmons didn't notice.

_'This guy's got to be lying,'_Gerald squinted his eyes. He glanced at Helga who was scowling at Francis. He could tell she was thinking the same thing.

"A legend?" Mr. Simmons seemed intrigued. "Could you tell me this legend?"

Francis sighed loudly. _'This man's annoying.'_He spoke in a rush. "I don't know the whole thing. Something about an old tribe." He walked ahead as he noticed the temple was near. He turned to Mr. Simmons. "Hurry," he commanded.

Mr. Simmons blinked, a little confused, but quickened his pace. He turned to the class behind him, "Let's go, boys and girls. I think we're almost there!"

The students sighed in unison, but also started to walk faster.

Helga started to get anxious. _'What if he's come back? Arnold, please be here to put an end to this nightmare!'_

The class all reached the temple.

"Whoa!"

"This thing's ancient!"

"Oh my.."

Everyone was amazed but Francis, Gerald, and Helga. They looked around for any sign of Arnold.

Francis skimmed his eyes over the brush of the jungle. He stopped as he recognized something. He smiled to himself. He turned to the class. "Wait here," he commanded.

Gerald and Helga looked at each other. As the rest of the class started to explore the temple, Gerald and Helga stayed away.

"Where do you think he is?" Gerald asked.

"How am I supposed to know? All I know is this guy is full of crap," Helga snapped.

Gerald sighed. He ignored Helga's anger as he was too anxious for Arnold's safety. _'I don't think we should trust this guy either.'_

_-Meanwhile-_

Arnold was laying on the ground, continuing to fight against the rope binding his hands. _'I've got to get out of here.'_ He sighed in defeat as he realized his only choice was to wait. He quickly thought of a plan. _'There's got to be something I can do...'_

He didn't have long to think as he heard someone emerging from the brush of the jungle. He squinted his eyes as he tried to hear whose voice it was.

"Ahh, Francis," La Sombra said enthusiastically. "I knew I could count on you."

Francis bowed his head. "They're all here."

La Sombra nodded in approval. "Excellent." He turned his attention to his guards. "All of you, go around to the other sides. Make sure _no one_gets away," he commanded.

"Is it time then, sir?" Francis asked.

La Sombra nodded. "Go, get them together," he commanded.

As Francis went to do so, La Sombra smiled and looked at Arnold. He walked to him and knelt down.

"You know what I think we should do?" He laughed as Arnold scowled. "I think it's time we meet your friends!" La Sombra nodded to the guard keeping watch on Arnold.

Arnold grimaced as the now familiar rough arms picked him up. To his surprise, they loosened the rope binding his hands, and he found himself to be free. The blindfold was removed, and he squinted in the sunlight.

La Sombra grabbed Arnold's arm and started to walk forward. Arnold stumbled forward as he was being shoved along roughly by La Sombra. La Sombra waited for Francis' signal and then stepped out of the brush of the jungle. He saw the class huddled in a group and smiled. "Hi there, amigos!"


	21. Chapter 19

Thank you so much for reviewing, everyone! I'm glad you're all enjoying this story. I hope you all enjoy this next chapter! :D

**I've based this scene on this concept art for TJM: 25 dot media dot tumblr dot com /tumblr_lr6m2rZAE01qj25nmo1_500 dot jpg**

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><p>Chapter 19<p>

"_ARNOLD!_" Everyone shouted in shock. They all took in Arnold's appearance. He was sweating profusely, his hair was disheveled, there were faint bruises beginning to show around his face, and his clothes were covered in dirt.

"What happened to you?"

"Wow, are you okay?"

The students all asked variations of the same questions in awe, disbelief, and concern. Mr. Simmons almost fainted at the sight. His heart pounded and he held a hand to his chest.

Before anyone could speak again, La Sombra started. "I believe he belongs to you?" he chuckled. Arnold picked up on the fake accent he was speaking in.

Mr. Simmons smiled and nodded. He started to walk toward La Sombra.

"I found him wandering around my estate this morning. I'm so glad we've found you!" La Sombra continued. Arnold furrowed his eyebrows and tried to jerk his arm away from his grip.

Helga and Gerald turned to each other. They shared a look, knowing something was fishy. Mr. Simmons let out a huge sigh of relief, not yet sensing something was wrong.

"Oh, thank you!" He held a hand to his chest, the other holding his suitcase, and continued, "Thank goodness you found him! Arnold, I'm so happy you're okay!"

La Sombra grinned at Mr. Simmons. "My name's Owen. I own a vacation house a few miles from here. I was on an early-morning stroll when I saw little Arnold. He was very lost and scared."

Mr. Simmons stepped forward and shook La Sombra's free hand. "I'm Robert Simmons. I'm the teacher of this class. This here," he motioned to Principal Wartz, "is Johnathan Wartz. He's the principal of our school." Mr. Simmons let go of La Sombra's hand and stepped back. "These are our students. Class," he called to them, "say thank you to Owen for doing a very kind and special thing for us!"

"Thank you, Mr. Owen," the class said in unison, excluding Gerald and Helga. They eyed him suspiciously.

Principal Wartz stepped forward and also shook La Sombra's hand. "Very nice to meet you, sir," he stepped back and turned around. "I think we should be on our way, now," he called to the students. They all picked up their suitcases and bags and waited for Mr. Simmons and Arnold.

"Can we hurry up? It's hot out here Principal Wartz!" Harold complained.

"Yeah, please?" Sid joined in.

"I'm starting to perspire, Principal Wartz!" Rhonda called.

"Stop that now, children," Principal Wartz retorted. "We're going to be leaving soon." He looked around and scratched his balding head and put the other hand on his hip. "Hey, where'd that Francis go?"

"So," La Sombra continued, "what brings you to San Lorenzo?"

Before Mr. Simmons responded, he noticed La Sombra hadn't let go of Arnold's arm. As he gripped it tighter, Arnold grimaced in pain. Mr. Simmons noticed Arnold's expression and quickly got suspicious.

"Francis?" Mr. Simmons heard Principal Wartz call. "Fraaancis?"

"Uh, we're on a field trip." He started to speak quickly, "Look, I'm so sorry to cut this short, but we really do need to get going." He looked to Arnold, "Principal Wartz and I are going to have to discuss your severe punishment on the way home, Arnold."

Arnold looked at Mr. Simmons with pleading eyes.

La Sombra stepped forward, slightly shielding Arnold behind him. "What kind of contest?" he smiled.

Mr. Simmons started to speak slowly and cautiously, unsure of what La Sombra wanted. He slightly furrowed his eyebrows. "It was a writing contest." He slowly stepped forward, "And again, thank you so much for returning Arnold to us."

Mr. Simmons had his arm outstretched to grab Arnold when La Sombra immediately jerked Arnold back. His eyes turned from delight to menacing as Mr. Simmons stopped abruptly at his harsh reaction.

La Sombra blinked and spoke with an unchanged expression. "I was thinking you all could come by for some breakfast. I'm sure that would calm you all down from the anxiety of losing Arnold here."

Mr. Simmons slightly furrowed his eyebrows. He reached his arm out again to grab Arnold and sternly said, "Thank you, but no. I'm afraid we have to get goi-"

"Oh, you're not going anywhere," La Sombra threatened in a low voice. He spoke in his normal voice, losing the fake accent. He gripped Arnold's arm tighter. Arnold grunted in pain.

Mr. Simmons' voice caught in his throat. His face slowly eased into a bewildered expression. He clutched his suitcase and slightly stepped back. Before he could respond to the threat, he heard the sound of a branch snapping. He spun around to the sound, as did everyone else, and immediately widened his eyes. He looked around, hearing more and more sounds around them. He turned back to La Sombra, looking for an explanation. He was met with a laugh.

"These are my friends," La Sombra said, his tone playful.

La Sombra's guards stepped forward from their hiding places within the jungle. They all carried swords. They had fierce scowls on their faces. Some smirked as they enjoyed seeing the fear in the students' eyes. Mr. Simmons spotted Francis among the guards with a betraying smirk.

"Please don't hurt us," Mr. Simmons whimpered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Principal Wartz approach one of the guards.

"Now, wait a minute," Principal Wartz started. He held his hands up to show he meant no harm, and calmly walked up to one of the guards. "We're not here to cause any trouble. I'm sure we can talk about this."

The guard laughed and nodded. The other guards started to laugh as well. The students looked around, huddling closer together. Principal Wartz started to nervously laugh along when the guard suddenly held his sword higher and lurched forward, causing Principal Wartz to yelp and jump back. The guard laughed harder at Principal Wartz' reaction.

La Sombra rolled his eyes. "_Enough!_" he seethed. The guards replaced their smile with a grimace.

Mr. Simmons looked around and fearfully stuttered, "I-I don't understand."

"You see," La Sombra started, "Arnold has agreed to help me find something very dear to me. Isn't that _right_, Arnold?" He squeezed Arnold's arm tighter.

Arnold yelled, "Let me go!" and continued to fight against him.

Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz ran forward to help Arnold, but were met with La Sombra's guards. They glared at them furiously. They all pointed their swords slightly forward, silently warning Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz to stay back.

La Sombra laughed loudly. "There will be none of that."

The students all started to whimper in fear. Harold had taken out his stuffed animal from his pocket and began to squeeze it close to his chest. Gerald stepped closer to Phoebe, making sure she was okay. Helga stood frozen, as did the rest of the students.

Mr. Simmons looked around fearfully and swallowed hard. "W-what do you w-want?"

"Oh, it's simple, really," La Sombra's eyes turned commanding. "I want Arnold here to help me retrieve what I've lost. And _those two_," he pointed to Helga and Gerald, "are going to come along for the trip."

Everyone gasped as Helga and Gerald turned to each other. They turned back to their peers, not knowing what to do or say. Helga gulped, and Gerald's eyes were wide with fear.

"Don't worry," La Sombra resumed, "once I get what I need, you can all go back home and pretend this little situation never happened."


	22. Chapter 20

**Super-duper sorry this took ages. I had writer's block on this one that was just stubborn. But I've finally finished! I hope you all enjoy! Also, thanks for all the sweet comments, subscribes, and favorites. :)**

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><p>Chapter 20<p>

Helga and Gerald slowly stepped forward.

"No!" Mr. Simmons held his hands up and stopped them. "Stay where you are!" he instructed. He turned back to La Sombra, his eyes wide. "Look, I'll give you anything. I-I have money! Or take me with you! I can help you find whatever you need!"

La Sombra laughed loudly. "I don't want your petty money. It's nothing compared to what I'll have when I get back what's been stolen from me."

Mr. Simmons gulped and looked to Principal Wartz for help.

Principal Wartz spoke calmly, trying to take control of the situation. "Look, there has to be something we can do. Mr. Simmons and I will both be very willing to work with you on this," he assured.

Mr. Simmons nodded. "Just, _please_, don't hurt them," he pleaded.

"Enough." La Sombra nodded to his guards. They stepped forward, grabbed Gerald and Helga, and shoved them forward. The other guards threatened Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz when they tried to interfere.

Helga and Gerald joined Arnold. Their eyes were wide with worry and confusion. Helga had to fight the urge to hug Arnold tightly. Arnold didn't look at them, but kept his eyes on La Sombra.

La Sombra smiled at the class. "I know you all must be very tired. Why don't you come back to my estate and we'll take care of you while you wait for your friends?"

There was silence as the class stared wide-eyed in fear.

"No? Well, suit yourself." He turned and led the way, grabbing Arnold's arm, dragging him along with Helga and Gerald reluctantly following. One of La Sombra's guards followed behind them. They followed La Sombra out of view of their classmates and waited as he spoke with the guard in Spanish giving him orders.

As they waited, they started to hear the whimpers and terrified yells of their classmates, teacher, and principal as the guards held them captive.

Arnold broke free from La Sombra's grasp and made a run towards his classmates. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THEM?!" he yelled as the guard grabbed him and pulled him back.

Gerald and Helga glanced at each other and started to step forward to help Arnold.

"Don't even think about it," La Sombra warned, his nostrils flaring.

Gerald and Helga refrained, but glared at him.

After a few minutes, Arnold exhausted himself from resisting against the guard's strong grip on him. He hung his head and closed his eyes. The guard let him go and he fell to his knees.

"Adan, what are you doing?" La Sombra rolled his eyes at his guard. "Pick him up!" he ordered harshly. The guard obeyed, but lightened his grip on Arnold.

"Don't let them out of your sight," he hissed.

Adan narrowed his eyes at La Sombra, but kept quiet. La Sombra stepped away and mumbled to himself. Arnold opened his eyes and looked up. He saw La Sombra take something out of his back pocket and unfold it. Arnold observed him as he looked to his right and his left, seeming unable to make up his mind.

"Adan, ven aqui!" La Sombra called.

Adan let go of Arnold and made his way to his boss. They were speaking in Spanish over the paper La Sombra was holding.

"Psst, Arnold," Gerald whispered.

Arnold didn't turn to face him, but slightly nodded to show he had his attention.

"Are you okay? What happened to you?" he asked eagerly.

"Did they hurt you?" Helga added.

Arnold turned his head. "I'm okay," he assured her. "I'm coming up with a plan," he turned fully around to face them. "I'm going to get us out of this, guys," he promised.

"HEY! Stop that!" La Sombra barked. He rushed over and towered over them as they stepped back. "Don't think for a second I don't know what you're up to. You're coming up with a _brilliant_plan to get out of this, aren't you?" he asked Arnold condescendingly.

No one spoke. Arnold simply glared in response to his taunt. After a moment, La Sombra took a deep breath and spoke calmly.

"Follow me, and don't drag behind or you _will_be left," he threatened.

Arnold glared at La Sombra, but stayed silent. La Sombra narrowed his eyes and smirked. He turned around and resumed speaking to Adan. Adan nodded and walked back behind Gerald. La Sombra looked over his shoulder to Arnold, Gerald, and Helga. "Let's go," he ordered.

They reluctantly followed La Sombra with no idea where they were headed. As they walked further into the jungle, Arnold's lack of sleep and water was catching up on him. His vision was slightly starting to distort, and he wondered what would happen to him if he fainted.

_'Would he order them leave me behind?'_he thought.

He desperately wanted to speak with Gerald, but Adan was keeping a careful eye on him. He would glance over his shoulder from time to time to sneak a small conversation with Gerald, but found Adan looking straight at him. Arnold would immediately turn his attention ahead of him and wait for his next chance.

He wiped the sweat from his brow and moved his flattened hair from his face. He looked at his arms and saw that they were turning red from so much exposure to the sun without sunscreen. He could feel his mouth getting as dry as sandpaper and his stomach growling as the minutes turned into hours. He tried to keep his mind off the heat and his needs. He occupied his mind with thoughts of how he could get himself and his friends out of the mess they were in.

Every now and then, La Sombra would stop and pull out the piece of paper from his back pocket and unfold it. He would mumble to himself and resume walking. Arnold would try to peer at the paper to see what it was, but could never quite make out what was on the paper. He tried to turn around to Gerald to tell him his ideas for a plan, but grew frustrated when Adan would make eye contact with him. Adan was walking behind Gerald, keeping an eye on them as La Sombra stopped and spoke to himself.

Arnold's thoughts moved from his exhaustion and severe thirst to thoughts about how horrible it must have been for his parents to deal with La Sombra. He could imagine them being treated much more harshly than he had experienced. _'I've got to take control,'_ he thought. _'But how?'_

Arnold wiped the sweat that was pouring from his face. His head was starting to feel heavy, and he felt like he was losing his balance. He glanced over his shoulder to check on Gerald and Helga. They were looking down as they walked, lost in their own concerns and needs. He noticed Gerald's tall hair starting to get flat, and Helga's skin turning as red as his own. Arnold sneaked a glance at La Sombra who had a determined look on his face.

After they spent a few hours walking deeper into the jungle, La Sombra led them to a small mountain. Arnold looked up and wondered what they would need up there. La Sombra grabbed Arnold's arm and roughly pulled him forward.

"You climb first," he ordered harshly.

Arnold didn't get very far. He reached for a stone and took a step to pull himself up when suddenly he felt himself fall and everything went dark.


	23. Chapter 21

**Hope you all enjoy! :)**

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><p>Chapter 21<p>

_He was laying on a field under a tree looking up at the clear blue sky. Arnold had his arms behind his head, feeling calm. He closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying a breeze blowing on him. He took in a deep breath of the crisp air. After a few silent, peaceful moments, he opened his eyes to see a woman standing over him. He smiled immediately at the sight of her._

_She smiled warmly at him, and laughed softly. She tucked her light brown hair behind her ears. He reached his arms up and vaguely noted that his arms were shorter than normal and slightly chubby._

_The woman reached down and picked Arnold up. She kissed his cheek and held him tight. He giggled and hugged the woman back._

_"Stella?" they heard. The woman turned around._

_"Over here, Miles!" she called and waved._

_As Miles reached them, he smiled brightly at Arnold. "Is that my big boy?" he cooed as Arnold giggled. He tickled Arnold's belly and kissed Stella._

_Arnold found himself unable to speak, but wasn't bothered by this._

_"Did you bring everything?" Stella asked. She sat down and layed Arnold on his back. Arnold noticed that Miles was carrying a brown basket._

_Miles nodded and held it up. "It's all here," he reassured her. He sat down beside Arnold and ruffled his baby son's hair._

_"Mhm, but that's what you said last time," Stella pointed out teasingly._

_Miles rolled his eyes. "So I forget one cookie and I'm marked for life?" he laughed._

_Stella shook her head and turned her attention to Arnold. "Your dad is silly, Arnold. I'm sure you won't forget the cookies when it's your turn to bring the basket," she lightly bopped his little nose and chuckled._

_"Hey!" Miles contested, smirking. "You're going to be just like your dad," he kissed Arnold's cheek. "Isn't that right, Arnold?" he cooed. "Arnold?" he repeated._

_Arnold furrowed his eyebrows in confusion._

_"Arnold?" As Miles kept repeating his name, his voice changed to that of a familiar, concerned voice._

"Arnold?!" Gerald cried. He knelt beside Arnold and checked his pulse.

"What's he doing now?!" La Sombra bellowed.

"I think he fainted," Adan answered calmly.

"Well, don't just stand there like a bafoon! Wake him up, you idiot!" La Sombra screeched.

Adan got on his knees and started to wave his arms in Arnold's face. "He needs air," he said firmly.

La Sombra put his hands on his hips. "Why isn't he waking up yet?" he asked in a reprimanding tone.

Adan stood up and looked around for a moment, seemingly searching for something. Without a word, he quickly ran away.

"Oh, useless!" La Sombra shouted after him. "Maybe I could leave him..." he mumbled.

Helga growled. "Not in my lifetime, bucko! Move over, tall hair-boy!" she yelled, pushing Gerald away from Arnold and getting on her knees. Somewhere in her stomach, she was starting to get butterflies. The adrenaline was quickly building up inside of her as she braced herself. She cracked her knuckles, took a deep breath, and bent over to make contact with Arnold.

Arnold suddenly felt hot, wet lips against his, and felt a huge wave of breath entering his mouth. His eyes flew open and he jumped forward.

Helga fell back on her butt and watched him with wide eyes. Gerald had to refrain from laughing out of concern for his best friend. Arnold held a hand to his head as he tried to remember what happened. He stared at Helga, overwhelmed with what had happened over the past few seconds. He then clutched his chest, breathing heavily. He grabbed his throat in pain. He wanted to groan, but he knew that would cause more pain.

La Sombra knelt down beside Arnold and glared at him. "What did you do that for?!" he yelled in Arnold's face.

"Wa-" he tried saying. He shook his head and tried to speak again. "Wa-" he grabbed his throat in pain.

"Agua," they all suddenly heard behind them.

They all looked up to see Adan holding a bucket. He was breathing heavily as if he was just running. "Water. It's full of water," he repeated for Arnold's sake. Arnold's eyes brightened and he nodded fiercely. Adan handed the bucket to him, and raised his eyebrows at how quickly and greedily Arnold started to drink. He smirked, then turned to La Sombra. "There's a river not far from here," he informed him.

La Sombra stood up and shoved him as he walked past him. "I knew that!" he snapped.

Adan made a skeptical expression as La Sombra stomped away and pulled out the paper from his back pocket. Adan fought a snicker and shook his head. He turned his attention to Arnold and slowly walked over to him. He knelt down beside him. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly.

Arnold wiped his mouth. He cleared his throat. "Yeah, I think so," he replied cautiously, his voice gruff. He set the bucket down and brought his knees to his chest and rested his head against them. He breathed deeply a few times before bringing his head up. "What happened?" he asked Gerald, but it was Adan who answered.

"You fainted," Adan informed him matter-of-factly.

Arnold let this sink in. _'I guess that was kind of obvious.'_ He nodded. "How long was I out?" he questioned.

"It was only a few seconds," Gerald answered.

Arnold stayed silent. He wasn't sure what to think. _'It felt so much longer.'_

Adan cleared his throat. "I think we should take a break and get some food," he spoke in a thick Spanish accent. He turned his attention to Gerald and Helga. "Are you two feeling okay?" he asked.

Helga narrowed her eyes, unsure of him. "What are you up to?" she asked suspiciously.

Adan stayed silent.

Gerald raised an eyebrow. "I think taking a break would be good. _Right_, Helga?" he elbowed her.

Helga scowled at Gerald, not understanding his intention.

"I'll go look for something," Adan said quietly, speaking mostly to Arnold.

Arnold furrowed his eyebrows and made to drink more water, but realized the bucket was empty. He handed it back to Adan. "Thanks," he told him, clearing his throat. His face twisted in pain as he did so. His throat and mouth was still dry, and it hurt to swallow.

Adan nodded and stood up. He reached his hand out for the bucket. "We'll all need some," he said before turning and walking away.

"That was weird," Arnold said, speaking mostly to himself. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked to see Gerald next to him.

"Are you okay? You gave us all heart attacks for a second," Gerald said, concerned features on his face.

Arnold half-smiled and thought about it. "I guess I need to eat and rest a little." He quickly looked around for La Sombra, who was still looking at the piece of paper and mumbling to himself.

"So," Gerald started, "what do you think this guy's up to? He actually sounded worried about you."

Helga stayed silent and watched Arnold.

He shook his head and shrugged in response to Gerald's question. He couldn't speak without being in pain.

Gerald sighed. "Well, I think he's got a plan of his own. Did you see the way he was looking at you?"

Arnold nodded. '_Why_ was _he watching me like that?_' he furrowed his eyebrows.

"And have you seen the way he's been looking at La Sombra?" Helga chimed in quietly. "Oh, and by the way, why the heck did you elbow me, Geraldo?!" she questioned, remembering how hard he had elbowed her.

Gerald rolled his eyes. "So he would leave! How else can we talk with him around?"

Helga scowled. "And elbowing me was the only way to tell me you wanted to talk?!"

As Gerald and Helga continued to bicker, Arnold looked down and thought about the dream he had._ 'Was it a dream? Or could it have been a memory?'_


	24. Chapter 22

**Hello, all! Another chapter! I'm not completely happy with how this turned out, but it could be worse. Regardless, I hope you all enjoy! **

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><p>Chapter 22<p>

Arnold took a deep breath. He vaguely registered that Helga and Gerald were still bickering. His throat was starting to ache more and more as the seconds went by. He kept his mind off of the pain by thinking of a plan. He thought of ways to be alone with Gerald and Helga to talk with them. He couldn't just run away and leave them behind. He needed to make sure they would be okay, while also not drawing suspicions from La Sombra.

Arnold looked up as he heard Adan come back with two wooden buckets. La Sombra snatched one away from him and greedily drank from it. Adan set the second bucket down on the ground and scratched his head. He glanced at Arnold, making eye contact with him. Arnold quickly looked away. He was another person Arnold needed to keep his eye on.

Gerald walked over to pick up the second bucket. "Hey! What's this?" he asked brightly.

"Fish," Adan replied quietly.

"Arnold, look! We have food!" Gerald exclaimed.

A small smile spread across Adan's face. "I'm going to start a fire so we can cook them," he announced.

La Sombra immediately stopped drinking the water and glared at Adan. He wiped his mouth with his arm and barked, "For what?"

"We should stay and rest here," Adan said cautiously.

La Sombra laughed. "And what makes you think we should do that?" he questioned.

Adan slightly narrowed his eyes and pointed to Arnold. "Look at what happened to the boy. It could happen to any of us," he answered.

La Sombra glared at Arnold. "He's fine," he retorted. "We're going to keep moving on. It would be a complete waste of a day! You do as _I_say!" he reminded Adan.

Gerald elbowed Helga for the second time that day. She immediately growled at him, but remembered he might have something up his sleeve. He suddenly stood up and held his head. He groaned loudly, getting both La Sombra and Adan's attention.

"I don't feel good," he mumbled.

Helga immediately put a hand to her stomach. "I feel like I'm going to barf," she said weakly.

La Sombra rolled his eyes. "Please," he scoffed. "Get up, you," he instructed Arnold. "It's not even four-thirty. You're all weak!"

Arnold also caught on to Gerald and Helga's act. "I don't think I should," he warned.

La Sombra growled. "You little-"

"I'll start looking for wood," Adan interrupted.

The day went by slowly. Gerald and Adan would take turns getting water for the group. Adan found some shade on the one side of the small mountain so they could all rest under for the day. La Sombra spent most of the day frustratingly ranting to himself, pacing back and forth, and studying the piece of paper he had. Helga sat with Arnold to make sure he was okay. It didn't take long for Arnold to approach the CPR subject.

"So, uh.." he started.

Helga cringed slightly.

"Thanks for...helping me wake up," he prompted.

Helga cautiously let her guard down. "Well...I couldn't just leave you there, and no one else was doing anything, and I wasn't really sure what to do, so I just did the first thing that popped into my head," she rambled quietly. Arnold smiled as she spoke and gave her his half-lidded gaze. She suddenly felt vulnerable and immediately put her walls up. She poked a finger in his chest as she yelled at him. "But don't expect me to do that again, bucko! And don't think anything of it or get gushy on me!"

Arnold rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Helga," he replied. He laid on his back, feeling exhausted. He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly.

"Hey, are you okay?" Helga asked worriedly.

Arnold simply nodded, suddenly too tired to speak. He felt himself slowly drifting to sleep. He vaguely heard La Sombra berate Helga for letting him 'faint' again. He wanted to open his eyes and come to Helga's defense, but couldn't find the energy to do it. Instead, he welcomed the sleep that was desperately reaching out to him. He fell asleep peacefully.

When Arnold awoke, it was dark. He yawned and stretched. He looked up at the stars and moon, and was amazed at how bright they were. For a moment, he thought he was looking at the sky out of his roof at the boarding house. He immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes. He looked around, feeling confused. _'How long was I asleep?'_

He felt disoriented and wondered what time it was. He stayed silent and tried to listen for any voices. He heard snoring instead. He looked to his right. He saw Helga first. She was curled up on her side with her back to him. Adan was laying on his back a few feet away from her.

Arnold looked around for his best friend. He spotted Gerald sleeping not too far from his feet. He quickly thought of waking him, but wondered if La Sombra was watching him.

Arnold suddenly felt paranoid. _'Where is La Sombra?'_ He turned around and was at first startled. La Sombra was sitting on the ground, his back against the mountain, a few feet from where Arnold had slept. His head was down and Arnold then realized the snoring was coming from him. _'Must have fallen asleep keeping watch.'_

Arnold bit his lip, unsure of what to do next. He could make a break for it, but he couldn't leave his friends behind. He suddenly heard his stomach growl. He looked around for food, and was happy to see there was some leftover fish at his side. _'Gerald must have out it here,'_he smiled. He quietly ate, debating with himself. When he was finished eating, he made a decision.

He had decided to take a look around and check to see if there was a way he can get out and lead Gerald and Helga back to the class. He got up and tip-toed past the sleeping group. He quickly walked past trees looking everywhere for some kind of trail. After a few minutes of walking, he decided it was a lost cause. He couldn't make out too much in the darkness and started to turn back. He turned around and froze.

_'Which way is back?'_he asked himself. He bit his lip, unsure of where to go. He started to walk straight and then made a turn, not remembering where he had turned, or if he had made a turn at all. He stopped and decided to walk straight, desperately hoping for a clearing.

The jungle was thick with trees and brush. It also seemed to darken the more Arnold walked. Every now and then, he would come across different small animals, and insects flew all around him. He started to panic with every footstep he took, afraid he was lost and getting more lost. He stopped and tried to think. _'Okay, what did Grandpa teach you? You can get out of here,'_he tried to calm himself. He suddenly heard a branch snap behind him. He quickly spun around.

"W-who's there?" he called nervously. He squinted, trying to make out a figure from the darkness. He heard a footstep and backed up cautiously.

"It's me," a voice answered.

Arnold squinted harder. "Adan?" he asked in disbelief. He saw Adan walk closer. "What are you doing here?"

Adan reached Arnold and placed one of his hands on Arnold's shoulder. "I've come to help you."

Arnold furrowed his eyebrows. "You want to help me?"

Adan simply nodded in response.

"B-but why?" Arnold questioned. "You don't even know what I'm doing," he stepped back.

"Come," Adan ordered. He started to walk back the way they came, but turned to his right. He stopped when he noticed Arnold didn't follow. "Are you coming?"

Arnold shook his head. "Tell me why you want to help me."

"I will. But we need to get going if you want to make it in time," he warned.

"In time?" Arnold repeated. He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head. "In time for what?"

"Come," Adan ordered again.

Arnold shifted his weight, debating with himself. After a moment, he slowly walked forward. Adan turned and started to walk, leading the way. Arnold sped up to walk by his side so he wouldn't get lost in the darkness.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Adan said quietly. "Did you eat the fish I left you? You're going to need your strength."

Arnold furrowed his eyebrows. He nodded, and quietly thanked him. "But how did you know where I was?" he pressed.

"I'm a friend of Eduardo's," Adan confessed.

Arnold froze. "_Eduardo?_Eduardo?! You know him? How?! Where is he?!" he blurted out.

Adan looked straight ahead as he spoke. "He sent me to keep an eye on your parents. I was only supposed to make sure _they_ were okay. I never knew _you_would come here."

Arnold stayed silent for a moment, letting it sink in. "So you've seen my parents?!" he asked eagerly.

Adan nodded. "But they are in danger. They know you're here, Arnold."

Arnold widened his eyes. "_They do?!_You've talked to them?! Where are they?!" he asked quickly, unable to control himself.

Adan began to walk again, and Arnold followed immediately.

Adan reached under his shirt and pulled something out. He handed it to Arnold. "I think this is yours."

Arnold gasped. "My dad's journal! I almost forgot about this!" He grabbed it and hugged it tightly to his chest. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Arnold, you must listen," Adan started. He didn't stop for Arnold to respond. "I'm going to lead you to a trail that will take you to them," he informed him.

Arnold widened his eyes even more. He listened intently to Adan.

"After we reach it," Adan continued, "I must go back to La Sombra. You must never leave that trail. La Sombra has taken them to a long-forgotten place. You are to go there if you want to save your parents."

Arnold looked down, overwhelmed with this information. "B-but what about Gerald and Helga? I need their help!"

Adan stopped and grabbed Arnold's shoulders. "Arnold, you must do this alone. I will watch them and make sure they're okay. It's you and your parents you need to worry about. Find them and save them. They will know what to do next. Do you understand?" he asked intensely.

Arnold found himself unable to speak, but nodded. They resumed walking. Adan continued to give Arnold instructions, making him repeat them to make sure he understood. After a few moments, they reached the trail.

"You can do this, Arnold," Adan encouraged. "I know you can. Are you ready?" he asked severely.

Arnold gulped, but nodded. "I can do this," he assured both Adan and himself. "Will I see you again?" he asked.

Adan nodded and reached into his back pocket. He took out a flashlight and handed it to Arnold. "You won't need this for very long. The sun will be up soon."

Arnold took the flashlight. "Tell Gerald and Helga not to worry about me, okay?" he pleaded.

Adan smirked. "They'll understand. Now, go," he instructed.

Arnold had started to walk forward on the trail, but suddenly turned around. "Adan?" he called.

Adan waited.

Arnold smiled. "Thanks for everything."

Adan smiled in return. He nodded, bidding goodbye, and turned away.

With that, Arnold took a deep breath, excitement and great fear clutching him, and started running.


	25. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Let me go!" Lorenda yelled. "Where's my Adoncia?!"

The guards grunted as they struggled to control Lorenda. They roughly pushed her into a cold room. They took off the blindfold that was around her head and quickly shut the door. She opened her eyes to find more darkness. She hugged herself tightly, starting to feel the bitter cold that suddenly surrounded her. She reached out her hands in front of her and slowly started to step forward. The only sound she could hear was her own ragged breath and almost inaudible footsteps. She jumped as her hands made contact with a cold, rough surface. She whimpered as she felt around the surface, looking for any source of light. Frustrated, she started to bang on it.

"ADONCIA!" she cried. She kept banging on the wall, terrified for herself and for her daughter. She stopped after a few minutes, giving up. She felt hopeless and exhausted. She fell down to the cold, hard floor and wept.

"Mama?" she faintly heard.

Her head snapped up quickly. She immediately stood up and spun around looking for the source. "Adoncia?!"

"Mama!" she heard again. It sounded as if it was coming from the other side of the wall. Lorenda started to slap anxiously on the wall as she spoke.

"Mija! Donde estas?! Where are you?!" she yelled desperately.

"No se!" Adoncia yelled back. "Todo esta oscuro!"

Lorenda put a hand to her forehead in despair. "Si, mija. Everything's going to be okay," she wept silently. "I'm going to get you out. If it's the last thing I'll do, I'm going to get you out."

She put her ear to the wall and could faintly hear her daughter start to cry. She kept crying silently, feeling inconsolable, and put her hand to the cold, rocky wall. She desperately wished she could reach Adoncia.

~

"This really bites," Stinky whimpered. He looked around at his terrified classmates.

The girls were hysterically bursting into tears, as was Harold, while the rest of the boys were confused and scared. The guards were leading them into the abandoned temple. As they walked in, they could smell the fire that was lit just a few hours before. They all walked to the center of the temple and sat down where Lorenda's fire had been. Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz were trying to calm everyone down, but struggled to keep their own emotions under control.

The guards left them there and walked out, guarding both of the temple's entrances outside.

"We're all going to die!" Sid cried.

"Don't say that!" Sheena argued.

"Boys and girls," Mr. Simmons started quietly, "I need us all to calm down. There has to be a rational way we can talk to these people," his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and signaled for Principal Wartz to take over.

"Of course there is," Principal Wartz assured. He was determined to stay calm and show strength for the class and Mr. Simmons. "We all need to work together if we want to get out of this," he encouraged.

The class started to murmur to each other.

"Guys?" Eugene spoke, trying to get their attention.

The class ignored him. They started to talk over each other, yelling out their ideas.

"Guys?" he tried again. When he saw he wasn't getting anyone's attention, he swallowed hard and yelled, "GUYS!"

Everyone looked in his direction. He gulped.

"What if we broke them down?" he asked.

Principal Wartz raised his eyebrows. "Son, what do you mean?"

Eugene looked around at his classmates. "Well, think about it, guys. Remember when we first got Mr. Simmons as our teacher, we 'broke' him? We all tried our best to annoy him? What if we did the same thing to the guards? It's a great idea!"

Harold scowled. "That's not a great idea! That's just stupid! These guys have swords, idiot! And Mr. Simmons is a flake. That would never work."

"Now wait a second, Harold," Mr. Simmons interjected, ignoring his insult. "I think Eugene's got something here. Those guards outside may have strength on their side, but we have brains. If we can find a way to 'break' them down, then I think we have a shot to get out of here." He looked into the terrified faces of his students. "We can do this if we all work together."

The class all murmured to each other. Sid walked up to Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz and joined their sides.

"I think we have a chance, you guys." He stretched his arm out in front of him and waited. Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz both joined Sid and brought their arms to his, putting one of their hands over Sid's. One by one, the class slowly started to join in, forming a circle.

When the class all joined in, Mr. Simmons smiled. "1, 2, 3-"

"LET'S GO!" they all screamed, throwing their hands up in the air.

"What's going on?!" Francis came in yelling.

Principal Wartz stepped forward. "The kids are starting to get a little rowdy," he said matter-of-factly.

Harold nodded. "And I'm getting REALLY hungry," he commented. He held his growling stomach.

"Me too!"

"Yeah, me too!"

"I could use something to eat!"

"And when can I go to the bathroom?!"

Other students joined in, all yelling over another. Francis looked around, his nervousness becoming apparent. The class started to yell and complain loudly about their hunger and thirst, arguing with the guards. The guards looked at each other, searching one another for answers. One of the guards approached Francis.

"La Sombra didn't say anything about food," he argued.

Francis rolled his eyes. "Just go get something so they'll shut up," he snapped.

The guard stepped closer to Francis. "And who are you to order me around?"

Francis snarled. "_I'M_ in charge here. You do what I say until La Sombra comes back!"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang coming from outside of the temple. Everyone in the temple fell silent. Two guards immediately ran out to see what it was. When they didn't return after a few moments, Francis ordered two more guards to check on them. Francis furrowed his eyebrows when they failed to return as well. He ordered the remaining guards to see what was going on. As soon as he turned his back to watch the class, they all heard screaming coming from the guards outside.

Francis widened his eyes in confusion and terror and spun around. He called for the guards, but no answer came. He turned to the class.

"No one moves. _At all._" He glared at them menacingly before reluctantly walking after the guards.

Principal Wartz turned to the class. "Now's our chance! Mr. Simmons, you go first!"

Mr. Simmons froze, his fear gripping him. Principal Wartz walked past the students to him and grabbed his shoulders.

"Remember about my adventures? Now it's time to have your own!" he encouraged. "For the sake of the students, Simmons!"

Mr. Simmons shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows, suddenly full of determination. "Right! Class, follow me, and don't stop for anything. Principal Wartz, you stay in the back to keep everyone together," he commanded.

Principal Wartz nodded to show he understood his orders. Mr. Simmons held a finger to his lips, motioning to everyone to stay quiet. He began to run down the hallway Francis and the guards went down to exit the temple. The class followed quietly, their full trust in their teacher, with Principal Wartz bringing the rear. As they got closer to the exit, they could hear yelling. Mr. Simmons stopped suddenly, uncertain of what to do. He turned back to his students and grew more determined seeing their terrified faces looking to him for comfort.

"No! IT CAN'T BE!" Mr. Simmons heard Francis scream.

After a moment, they all stepped out of the temple into the bright sunlight. They all looked around, and was surprised to see no one. Francis and the guards had disappeared.

The class looked to each other, all asking the same questions. As Mr. Simmons looked around, he could have sworn he saw a glimpse of someone peeking at them through the brush of the jungle before disappearing.

"HEY!" he yelled after them. "Hello? Wait! Are you here to help us?!"

"Simmons!" Principal Wartz called. "What's going on? Where are you going?!" He and the rest of the class ran after Mr. Simmons, hoping that they were going to be rescued.


	26. UPDATE-2

**Hi, everyone! Super duper sorry for the lack of updates on here. =/ I've been going through some stuff which makes it a bit difficult to write. I haven't forgotten about my story, and I'm still working on the next chapter. For those that don't follow me on DeviantArt, I've mentioned a new "Hey Arnold!" story I'm writing. So, while I haven't updated on here, I still have been working on my stories. I'll update as soon as I can, I promise. Thanks to everyone for all the support. You don't know how much it means to me. :)**


	27. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

As Arnold ran through the jungle, he thought of Helga and Gerald. He wondered what La Sombra would do to them once he woke up. He hoped they would be okay. He vowed to himself that he would help them once he reunited with his parents. He grunted as he ran farther, his side beginning to ache. He mentally repeated every direction Adan told him over and over. He was worried he'd get lost, but wouldn't let that distract him. He ran past dozens of different kinds of trees, bushes, and animals as he went.

After a while, he found himself having to push his desire for water and a break to the back of his mind. _'There'll be plenty of time for a break after I find mom and dad,'_ he encouraged himself. He swallowed hard and kept running.

-Meanwhile-

"Mr. Simmons, get back here!" Principal Wartz yelled as he ran after Mr. Simmons. His breathing grew hard and heavy. The students all followed behind, screaming after each other.

"We need help!" Mr. Simmons yelled.

Principal Wartz was unsure if it was a response to him or to whomever Mr. Simmons was following. He continued to run, but started to fall behind a few students as he grew tired. "Simmons!" he gasped.

After they had been running for what felt like miles, Mr. Simmons came to a sudden stop. As everyone else followed suit, they all gasped in unison.

There was an opening through the jungle, and they all stepped out. They looked around wide-eyed, but hesitated to step further. They had come upon what seemed to be another village. It looked much older than the village the class had been staying in, and it looked to be abandoned. There were little houses made of thousands of tree branches and leaves. Everyone was in awe of a great big temple at the center of the village. It looked to be the oldest building they had ever seen. All around the village was one symbol. It was a green eye.

Principal Wartz immediately turned bright red. He grabbed Mr. Simmons shoulders and yelled, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! YOU COULD HAVE BROUGHT US RIGHT INTO A TRAP!"

Before Mr. Simmons could react, everyone heard a a branch snap. They all quickly turned to the sound.

"Look, someone's hiding in the bush!" Sid yelled, pointing.

Principal Wartz let go of Mr. Simmons and backed away slightly. "W-who's there?" he called.

Mr. Simmons stepped forward slowly and held up his hands. "We don't want to hurt you," he said calmly.

The person hiding behind the bush slowly and hesitantly stepped out of the bush. He was an elderly man and was wearing clothes that looked like they belonged to a tribe. He was wearing a crown made of green and gold jewels. He was also wearing the green eye symbol that was all over the village.

Phoebe squinted as she observed the man.

Mr. Simmons furrowed his eyebrows. "Phoebe, I don't know. Sir," he started, turning his attention to the man, "do you live here?" he asked, unsure if the man could understand him.

The elderly man simply waved his hand, signaling them all to follow, and began to walk through the abandoned village. Without hesitation, Mr. Simmons began to follow the old man.

"Wait!" Principal Wartz hissed. "What if this is a trap, Simmons?!"

Mr. Simmons spoke calmly and matter-of-factly without turning, "I think he helped us get out of that temple, Principal Wartz. He wants to help us. Come on, class."

Principal Wartz watched as the students eagerly followed after them. He sighed in defeat and followed after the class. He looked over his shoulder every few steps, feeling uncertain of the elderly man.

The class followed the elderly man into one of the little houses made of branches. As they walked in, they all gasped.

Phoebe suddenly gasped. "I remember! I read about that symbol in an old history book! I can't believe it! They were believed to be an old tribe that died out long ago from a strange disease. There were rumors that Americans came here and helped them, but that has never been proven. Mr. Simmons, you've found a lost tribe! Do you know what this means?! Oh, this is incredible!" she spoke in a rush.

She looked up with disappointment as no one had shared her excitement. Instead, the class had their backs turned on her and were staring at something she couldn't see. She raised an eyebrow and pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

"I-is that...?" Sheena started, unable to finish her question.

The house had many petroglyphs of a football-shaped headed baby.

~

"I can see it!" Arnold exclaimed. He saw a temple coming into view.

"MOM? DAD?" Arnold yelled, full of hope and anxiety. When there was no answer, Arnold flicked on his flashlight and desperately looked around. He wide eyes full of excitement slowly turned into a grimace. "What?! No..." he cried. "Th..they have to be here! Adan told me..." he pulled out his dad's journal and flipped to the map.

"Haha!" Arnold suddenly heard a booming laughter.

"Who's there?!" he called.

"Did you really think," the voice started, "that you could escape from me?" La Sombra emerged from the dark shadows and began to walk towards Arnold.

Arnold's eyes widened and he started to back away. "How did you get here?!"

La Sombra smirked. "Please. Adan is a fool and led me straight to you!" His eyes suddenly lit up. "And what's this?" he asked, snatching the journal out of Arnold's hands.

"HEY, GIVE IT BACK! THAT'S MINE!" Arnold yelled as he tried to grab it out of La Sombra's grasp.

La Sombra then grabbed Arnold by his sleeve. "I think you should join your two little friends," he said darkly. "We're all going to join in on an adventure," he smiled.

Arnold grimaced as he was shoved out of the temple and back into the bright sunlight. Outside of the temple were Helga, Gerald, and Adan waiting for them. Adan looked considerably rugged with bruises all over his face. Arnold felt guilty and looked down in defeat.

La Sombra stopped for a second to flip through a few pages of the journal. His eyes grew bright as he realized what he was reading. He gasped and then greedily flipped to the back of the journal. "AH, YES! THIS IS IT!" he said in excitement.

Arnold closed his eyes in sadness. _'I've ruined everything..'_

La Sombra could hardly contain his excitement as he paced back and forth wildly, figuring out which way was the easiest to get to the trail that was on the map. "There!" he pointed to the opening of the jungle at the back of the temple.

"Adan, you go first," he ordered menacingly.

Adan nodded and walked in the direction La Sombra pointed.

~

"Uh, Phoebe?" Mr. Simmons started. "Did that book you read mention a football-headed baby?" he asked rhetorically.

Phoebe took it as a serious question. "Well, no, Mr. Simmons. It didn't."

"How do you know Arnold?" Mr. Simmons asked loudly, not sure if the man could understand him.

The man's eyebrows lifted up slowly. "Arnold..." he whispered. He called to one of his companions and spoke in their own language. The class all looked in confusion as they analyzed Arnold's football-shaped head carved into the rock.

"This is so weird," Sid stated.

"I'll say," Stinky agreed.

The elderly man smiled kindly at them all. He called one of the villagers into his house. He spoke in their own language. The villager nodded and stepped out of the house. A few seconds later, he entered holding an envelope. It was covered in dust, as if it was in an attic for many years. He handed it to Mr. Simmons.

Mr. Simmons hesitated. He looked at the villager and the elderly man in complete confusion. The villager nodded, encouraging Mr. Simmons.

Slowly and carefully, Mr. Simmons opened the envelope. He took out a letter and was relieved to see that it was in English. The students and Principal Wartz all crowded behind Mr. Simmons and tried to read what the letter said.

Mr. Simmons cleared his throat as he started to read aloud.

"Dear...rescuer," Mr. Simmons started, "if you are reading this, it means you have somehow found The Green Eyed people. Please, please come save us. We don't know what to do or how to get in touch with anyone. We don't know where we are, but we know who has trapped us. His name is La Sombra. We hope this letter finds you, whoever you are, soon."


	28. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"Oh dear," Mr. Simmons said. He was at a loss for words as he tried to comprehend everything that had transpired throughout the day.

"This has to be some sort of coincidence, right?" Eugene asked. He stared at the petroglyph of Arnold's football-shaped head.

"A very weird coincidence," Sid answered. "And what about that letter? Are they connected?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Sid," Rhonda spat. "What are the chances of them being connected? We don't even know who it's from. This is all a coincidence. And the sooner we find Arnold, the sooner we can go home," she muttered.

"Hey, is that letter signed by anyone, Mr. Simmons?" Eugene asked.

"Hm..." Mr. Simmons squinted. "It looks a little faded. M...Mil," he stuttered as he tried to make out the letters. "I can't make out the rest. I guess we'll just call this person Mil."

Curly furrowed his eyebrows. "How could someone named Mil know Arnold? Especially if it's been so many years. Maybe it's _aliens_!"

The class silently thought about who this Mil could be, and ignored Curly's suggestion. Suddenly, one of the students came to a realization.

"Uh...have any of you ever heard Arnold talk about his relatives?" Nadine asked.

"He does talk about his cousin sometimes," Lila sighed dreamily.

"Yes, we're _all_ aware of Arnie," Rhonda grumbled. "And of course we all know his grandparents."

"Do you think they could know a Mil? Do you think.." Nadine hesitated, "do you think it could be related to Arnold's real parents?"

"Oh, please, Nadine. How are we to know that?" Rhonda said, rolling her eyes. "There's no way it's related."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Rhonda," Eugene argued. "I mean, think about it, have any of you ever met or heard of Arnold's parents?"

Rhonda's eyes slightly widened as she hit the same realization everyone else had. "But..that's impossible!"

"Hey, Eugene's right! It all makes sense!" Harold agreed.

"Children, don't get all excited now," Principal Wartz said nervously.

"Yeah, I'm sure these aren't connected. This letter could be 50 years old by now!" Sid reasoned.

"No, you idiot!" Harold argued. "The letter says La Sombra! That's that weird guy that took away Arnold! He'd be dead by now if this letter was 50 years old!"

"I wouldn't say that, Harold," Principal Wartz disagreed sternly.

The class all argued with each other, debating on if it indeed was a coincidence, or if by fate, they were about to embark on a journey to save Arnold's long-lost parents.

Mr. Simmons stayed silent, his thoughts drowning out the class' arguing. He re-read the letter again and again. "His name is La Sombra. We hope this letter finds you, whoever you are, soon."

The last two lines of the brief letter stuck out to him. "Of course there's a connection," he murmured. Some of the students heard him and started to debate even louder.

"But why?" Mr. Simmons continued, ignoring the class. He turned swiftly to the old man who was simply watching them. He pointed to the letter. "What happened?" he asked loudly. The man stared at him blankly.

Mr. Simmons sighed and lowered his eyes. "Does anyone know a different variation of Spanish?" he asked the class rhetorically.

~

"I said GO!" La Sombra bellowed. He shoved Gerald forward, making him bump into Helga.

"Hey, watch it!" Gerald argued. He had grown tired of the abuse and was thinking of a way to escape from La Sombra. He looked ahead to see Adan slightly give him a look to keep quiet. Gerald grimaced in reply.

The small group had been walking for hours in the humid jungle. They were all getting covered in scratches, sweat, and bruises. La Sombra was seemingly undisturbed by this. His eyes were bright with excitement. Arnold kept his head down as they walked, too ashamed to look at his friends. Helga's expression grew soft as her concern for her love grew stronger with each second that passed.

"Hey, are you okay?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Arnold shook his head. "I wish I could say I'm thinking of a plan, but I don't have anything. I'm really sorry for getting you and Gerald into this mess."

Helga slightly wrinkled her forehead. "Hey, we wanted to come, remember? We're with you until the end," she smiled.

Arnold looked up at her and smiled back. She almost fainted at the sight. After a prolonged moment, they looked away from each other. She felt awkward as she tried to think of words to console Arnold. _'Oh, my beloved. Why can't I comfort you in this time of need?'_

"THERE IT IS!" La Sombra suddenly yelled. He started to jump around like a child on Christmas morning.

They all looked up to see they had come upon a big temple. It was the biggest temple Arnold had seen yet. Trees were covering the top of it and there was moss and brush of the jungle all around it. He looked around for the Green Eye symbol, but it was nowhere to be found. This confused him. What was it La Sombra had found?

"This is it! Finally!" he exclaimed. "Adan, you stay out here and keep an eye on them," he commanded. He turned on his flashlight and made his way into the temple.

Arnold furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't understand. Adan, what's here? La Corazon can't be in there, can it? There's no Green Eye symbol here." Arnold questioned.

Adan kept his eyes to the cave as he answered. "This isn't just a temple," he answered. His mind flew to a memory that had been on his mind for the past nine years. "I had just started to work for Eduardo. He knew of La Sombra's plans to capture your parents and asked me to help his friends."

Arnold, Gerald, and Helga listened intently.

"I had been working for La Sombra under Eduardo's orders. He told me to watch Miles and Stella, to make sure they would stay alive. Arnold, you must know how sorry I am," he said bitterly.

Arnold shook his head. "Adan, what does that have to do with this temple?"

Adan looked down. "This was where your parents were captured. They had come here to leave the antidote for the disease that was killing the villagers. La Sombra knew La Corazon would be in the same place, so...we ambushed them."

Helga gasped and brought a hand to her mouth in shock.. Arnold stayed frozen in silence. Gerald was the first to speak up as he thought of something.

"But I don't understand. If La Corazon was here, why didn't La Sombra just come back and get it afterword?"

"The thing about this temple is that it's invisible. La Sombra could never find his way back to it. That's why he needed you, Arnold. He thought you would know where it was," Adan revealed. "And over the years, the Green Eyes moved on to another village. They kept La Corazon here as a reminder of what your parents sacrificed for them."

The three students stayed silent. Helga and Gerald looked to Arnold, wondering what he was thinking and what they were going to do next.

Before anyone could say anything, La Sombra came out of the temple, almost skipping. He was carrying something covered under a piece of cloth.

"Ahaha, I've got it! I'VE FINALLY GOT IT!" he exclaimed. "You're ridiculous parents couldn't keep me away from this! And to think their poor little son led me straight to it! Won't they be so proud?" he jeered.

Arnold gave him a death stare. He clenched his fists in rage and was unable to speak.

"Oh, we've made him upset," La Sombra taunted. He put his arm around Adan. "Did you tell him he's been so close to his parents all along?"

Adan kept his eyes down. In his surprise and confusion, Arnold unclenched his fists. He stood up straighter and widened his eyes.

"That's right!" La Sombra exclaimed. "When I brought you to my home, they were right there, just below your feet! Or knees, should I say," he smirked. "I have them in the dungeons below the house!" He laughed a little as Adan shoved him away.

Arnold scowled, as did Gerald and Helga. Although he was mad, Arnold couldn't deny that he felt relief knowing where they were.

"You creep!" Helga shouted. "You're going to pay for this!" she made to attack La Sombra, but Gerald held her back.

Arnold stayed still, his eyes dark with rage.

This made La Sombra laugh loudly. "Okay, okay," he said, waving his hand to them. "Let's go. I've got my prize," he smiled. "And no one will take it from me this time," he added darkly.

Gerald started to drag Helga away, but Arnold stayed put. Adan walked to him and started to push him along.

"Did you know?!" Arnold yelled and pushed him away. "Did you really know where they were this whole time?!"

Adan closed his eyes. "You have to trust me," he whispered. He opened his eyes and looked at Arnold with pleading eyes. "I will help you, but we have to go," he said.

Arnold scowled in reply and started to walk along. "We'll see," he muttered bitterly.

~

Lorenda had managed to calm down Adoncia by talking to her. "Do you remember that song I taught you, mija?" She had asked. "Can you sing it for mami?"

Adoncia sniffled and started to sing. She started to dance around in the darkness and laughed at her silliness. Lorenda wiped away silent tears as her daughter acted like a true child.

She turned her head swiftly as she heard a very faint sound. "Adoncia, stop, mija," she said, almost whispering her words. She got up and felt around the wall. She stopped after she had taken a few steps. She cocked her head to the side and waited to hear the sound again.

"_He..._" she heard again very softly. She gasped and almost cried from fear and excitement.

"HOLAA!" she yelled. "IS SOMEONE THERE?!" she yelled again. She cocked her head and tried very hard to listen.

"Hello?" a voice called from the distance. "Can you hear me?!" The voice muttered something unintelligable to Lorenda's ears.

Lorenda laughed in joy, happy to know she and Adoncia weren't alone. "Si! YES! WHO ARE YOU?" she questioned.

"There's two of us in here!" the voice said. It sounded like a woman.

Lorenda's eyes widened and she raised her eyebrows. _'That voice..'_

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" she called into the darkness.

"My name is Stella!" the voice yelled back.

Lorenda's eyes widened.


	29. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

_'You have to trust me.'_ Arnold replayed the words in his mind over and over. _'How can I trust him? He's a traitor,'_ he thought bitterly. Adan avoided Arnold's gaze as they walked deeper into the jungle.

Arnold vaguely noticed that the weather was cooling down. He felt a breeze hit his face and was briefly relieved. As they walked, Arnold tried to untie all the knots in his mind that was his chaotic thoughts. He was hurt, confused, and he felt defeated. He also felt guilty and responsible for Gerald and Helga's, and the rest of the class', suffering. Above all, he felt that he had let his parents down.

He desperately wanted to just fall to his knees and give up. La Sombra had got what he wanted, and it was because of him. It was his fault. He didn't know how he would get himself, and everyone, out of this mess. He was tired of thinking. He was tired of being a let down to everyone. He was tired of everything and wanted nothing more than to give up.

Suddenly, La Sombra stopped walking. Arnold accidentally bumped into Adan. He looked up to see La Sombra looking around their surroundings.

"Adan, this isn't the way back," La Sombra affirmed. "I don't recognize any of this. What do you think you're doing?" He looked at Adan suspiciously. Adan simply smirked at him before turning to Arnold.

"Go west and find the bridge. Get back to La Sombra's home," he murmured low enough for only Arnold to hear. He sneaked Mile's journal back to Arnold and looked at him with imploring eyes.

"Trust me," he pleaded. It was the last thing he said before running into the jungle. Arnold froze out of surprise and looked on to see Adan running out of sight. He looked questioningly after him.

"What?" he questioned, shaking himself back to reality. "Wait! ADAN!" he called after him.

"HEY, GET BACK HERE!" La Sombra bellowed. He kept yelling after Adan. He ran after him, but stopped abruptly. After a brief moment, he took a deep breath. He turned around and glared at the three kids in front of him.

"No matter," he said to himself. "You," he looked to Arnold, "lead the way back."

Arnold glowered at him. But he realized this could be a chance for a new plan. He looked at Gerald and Helga. He suddenly felt overwhelming inspiration.

He sighed loudly and started to walk in the opposite direction. The rest of them started to follow after him, none of them sure of where they were going.

~~~

"Stella?! Stella, it's me! Lorenda!" she yelled into the darkness. She couldn't help herself as she cried from happiness.

She felt around the wall. She felt the coldness from the wall then suddenly felt cold iron bars.

"Lorenda?!" Stella yelled back. Lorenda heard her crying as well. "Lorenda, I can't believe it! What are you doing here?! Miles, it's Lorenda!"

Lorenda started to tell them everything that happened. That her son had come to San Lorenzo with his whole class to save them, to find the Green Eyes and about La Sombra taking him away. She also told them about Eduardo going into hiding. She struggled as she went along. Stella and Miles kept asking her questions about Arnold as she went on.

"Arnold? He's here?!" Miles yelled in disbelief.

"I don't know! La Sombra has taken him somewhere else! They could be anywhere by now!" she yelled. She cringed as she started to notice pain in her throat from thirst and from yelling.

"How tall is he?"  
>"What's his personality like?"<br>"Is he safe?"  
>"What are his friends like?" they had both blurted one after another.<p>

After a while, they had stopped yelling and relied on echos to hear each other. Lorenda struggled as she didn't have the answers to a lot of their questions. She regretted not knowing much else since she had last seen Arnold. After a more questions, Lorenda started to ask them a few questions of her own. She asked what had happened and why they had been kept here for so long. She asked if La Sombra was holding them captive for answers or if he was too crazy to know what to do with them. It was very difficult for Stella and Miles to talk about it, but eventually Lorenda knew everything.

"After we were captured," Stella started, "La Sombra's guards brought us here. He questioned us and tortured us. He took Miles to a different room and questioned him there. I was left with the guards, and they abused me. They hit me and yelled at me. They demanded to know where La Corazon was," she said sadly. Her mind raced with the images burned into her memory. "After a few months, La Sombra thought to go back to the cave where we were captured by his guards. He took me and Miles and ordered us to lead him to it. We never did. We told him that without a map, we'll never find it again."

Miles took over for her. "You can imagine how mad he was about that. He separated me and Stella for months. We never got to see each other or talk to each other. There were times when I thought maybe she was no longer here," he said and placed his hand on his wife's shoulder.

Lorenda rested her head against the iron bars as she listened quietly. She cried as she listened. She couldn't imagine being in their situation.

"You're both so strong," she responded.

"But at what cost?" Stella questioned bitterly. "For so long we've had to live wondering about our son," she cried. "We missed so much of his life."

Miles kissed her forehead. "But he's here now," he encouraged. "It seems that he's taken after you. He's brave and adventurous," he smiled.

Stella chuckled in response and wiped away her tears.

"What about you, Lorenda?" Miles asked. "Is that little girl yours?"

"Yes," Lorenda smiled. told them about her daughter. She told them about her father and then drifted off to talk about the Green Eyes. She told them a lot of them had perished over the years, but many still remain.

"They are still very secretive, but are always helping," she finished. She swallowed hard and ignored the pain in her throat.

They stayed silent for a few moments. They processed all of the news they had received. Lorenda was in pain for Stella and Miles, while they were excited yet terrified that their son was here.

"Well," Miles started loudly, "I think it's time we come up with a plan to get out of here and get my son."


	30. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

_'Where's west?'_ Arnold wondered. He had been dragging the group around for hours. He was grateful La Sombra was too busy admiring La Corazon to notice how long they had been wandering around. _'Come on, come on...'_ He fought hard to remember everything his grandfather had taught him on camping trips. _'What was it? If moss grows on the...South side of the tree?'_ He shook his head. _'It's the North side! That has to be it!'_

As soon as he remembered, Arnold frantically started analyzing all of the trees. Helga and Gerald glanced at each other. They started to look at the trees also, trying to see what Arnold was looking for. He spotted one right away and abruptly stopped. _'Okay, so that means West is...'_ He turned to his left. "This way!" he said aloud.

Gerald raised an eyebrow. "Do you really know where you're going?" he questioned nervously.

"I do now," Arnold smiled. _'Hopefully it won't be too long now..'_ he thought as he led the way to his, and everyone else's freedom.

"How can we get out of here?" Lorenda asked loudly. "We can't see anything down here!"

"I know, but if we all work together then we can think of something," Miles encouraged.

"These cells are so old and worn down. If there's a hole somewhere, maybe Adoncia could fit through it," Stella said.

They all started to feel around their cells blindly. Lorenda asked Adoncia to do the same. She prayed that they could find a way out.

"If Adoncia can get out, what will we do next?" Lorenda questioned. "She's too small to get the rest of us out."

Miles and Stella thought about this. Before anyone could answer, they heard heavy footsteps above them. There was muffled yelling and more running.

"Someone's coming!" Stella yelled. They all stood still and braced themselves.

"Mija, siéntate!" Lorenda hissed to her daughter. Suddenly, a door opened and bright light hit the cells. Lorenda winced and put her hands up to block the light. She looked around and finally saw Miles and Stella 5 cells across from her. She gasped at their appearance.

They had looked old, beaten, skinny, and rugged. Their clothes had looked years old and were torn in many places.

Miles had a long, blonde and graying beard on his face. Stella looked much older with wrinkles on her forehead and laugh-lines starting to engrave themselves on her once youthful face. They both looked weak and tired, yet Lorenda knew they had the will to fight.

Lorenda then looked at her daughter and saw her sitting down on the floor. She also had her hands up to cover the harsh light. Lorenda then turned her attention towards the light.

"Who's there?!" Miles bellowed.

There was a short pause before they heard footsteps descending the stairs. The footsteps grew eager with each step. After their eyes adjusted to the light, they all saw the figure make it's way down the stairs. The figure stopped abruptly at the last step.

"Who are you?!" Stella demanded.

Lorenda widened her eyes as she realized who the figure was.

"I'm Adan. I've come to help you."

The group gasped at the sight.

"There is _NO_ way I'm going on that!" Helga argued.

Arnold, Gerald, Helga, and La Sombra had just come upon a bridge that stretched across about 200 feet. Helga stepped back immediately as soon as she realized what they were about to do.

_'This must be the one Adan meant,'_ Arnold thought. He gulped as he scrutinized its appearance. He had to admit he agreed with Helga. The bridge looked decades old. It had a rope railing, many planks missing, and was slightly swaying.

"Well!" La Sombra snapped. "What are you waiting for?! GO!" He bellowed and pushed Arnold towards the bridge.

Helga instantly reacted.

"Stop pushing him around, you moron!" she screeched. She made to attack him, but Arnold stopped her.

"Helga, stop!" he yelled. "Trust me, we're going to be okay," he encouraged. She gave him a bewildered look.

"HAH!" La Sombra started laughing. "You're little girlfriend has more fight in her than you do," he taunted. He laughed for a few more moments before composing himself. He took a deep breath and clutched La Corazon closer to himself. "Now, _go_," he commanded coldly.

Arnold turned around and walked up to the bridge's edge. He put his hands on either side of the rope railing. He gulped and slowly moved his foot onto the bridge. He squeezed his eyes shut as his foot landed on the first step. He waited for a couple of seconds before opening his eyes.

He breathed a huge sigh of relief and braced himself for the next step.

Slowly, Helga, Gerald, and La Sombra all did the same, hesitating with their first step. They all made their way slowly across the bridge. Every now and then, Arnold would glance behind his shoulder to make sure his friends were okay.

The group had just made it to the middle of the bridge when La Sombra started to lose his patience.

"Hurry up! You're all going too slow!" he barked.

Arnold ignored him and continued to take his time with each step. He was going to take another step when all of a sudden, the bridge began to move.

"W-what's happening?!" Helga panicked.

La Sombra rolled his eyes. "It's an earthquake," he scoffed.

They all held on tightly. Arnold crouched and held on to the rope railing as closed his eyes and prayed that it would stop. A few minutes later, he realized that the bridge had stopped moving. He slowly opened his eyes and stood up straight.

He turned back to check on his friends. As they made eye contact, they all smiled at each other, knowing they were safe.

"Well, that wasn't so bad," Gerald said, laughing nervously.

La Sombra growled and shoved him forward again. "Go. _NOW!_ And hurry up!"

Arnold walked with even more caution this time. He had only taken one step when he suddenly heard a crack.

Arnold's eyes widened and he slowly looked back. Before he could register what was happening, the bridge began to collapse. They all started to lose their balance and stumbled forward.

Arnold looked down and saw the flat earth below. The sight horrified him. His fear gripped him, his heart started to pound, and he froze in place.

"ARNOLD!" he heard. He looked behind at Helga. She was also looking down and screaming. She was gripping the rope railing, trying to keep her balance. She looked up at Arnold with horrified eyes. He suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of protection for her.

Gerald suddenly yelled at Arnold. "Arnold, we've gotta move! Go, man!'

Arnold snapped out of it. "Right!" He grabbed Helga's hand, pulled her forward, and raced ahead. She yelped in fear, but willingly followed. Gerald followed suit, with La Sombra bringing up the rear, clutching La Corazon. He almost shoved Gerald out of the way as he ran. Gerald narrowly avoided falling behind, and raced forward.

Arnold glanced behind and sped up at the sight. The bridge was falling, one plank at a time behind them. Behind him, he could hear the snap as of the rope as it gave way. Finally, Arnold made it to solid ground, with Helga right behind.

He looked back to make sure Gerald and La Sombra made it.

Gerald had just crossed to solid ground, when they all heard a yell. They turned back to see La Sombra gripping the side of the cliff.

"HELP ME!" He looked up at them with pleading eyes. "HELP! PLEASE!"

Helga screamed and raised her hands to her head in panic.

Arnold ran and knelt to him grabbing his wrist and reached his other hand out. "Give me your other hand!"

Gerald came to his aid and also held onto La Sombra's wrist, trying to keep him from letting go.

La Sombra frantically shook his head, not letting go of La Corazon, but still yelled in fear. Arnold looked at Gerald.

They thought the same thing. Gerald nodded, trying his hardest to keep La Sombra from falling.

Arnold yelled, "You've got to give me La Corazon!"

La Sombra looked up at Arnold as if he had lost his mind. "I'm not letting this go!" He barked, and then whimpered in panic at his slipping hand. He glanced down again.

Gerald grunted, struggling to keep his grip on La Sombra's wrist. "It's not worth it! You've got to let go!"

After a split-second of thought, La Sombra reluctantly handed over La Corazon, and reached his now free hand to the edge of the cliff. Arnold grabbed La Corazon and handed it to Helga who set it down on the ground. Arnold and Gerald grunted as they tried to pull La Sombra up. He pushed them back, shoving Arnold's hand away, wanting to pull himself up. He pulled up one elbow on solid ground and continued to pull himself up.

"I don't need your help!" He kept his eyes on La Corazon, greedily climbing to it.

Gerald and Arnold made to reach and help again, but suddenly, the edge of the cliff started to fall away. Arnold, Gerald, and Helga jumped back and yelled. As the edge of the cliff slowly started to break apart, La Sombra desperately looked for something secure to hold onto. Suddenly, he lost his grip and started to fall, pieces of rock falling after him.

"NOOO!" Arnold, Gerald, and Helga yelled.

La Sombra fell screaming, reaching frantically for a rope that didn't exist. Arnold, Gerald, and Helga all flinched away and closed their eyes, waiting for the big 'thud'. After a few minutes, they all slowly opened their eyes wide.

Helga was the first to speak.

"I-is he...gone?" She peered over the cliff.

Arnold nodded and breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath. "I-I think so. Step back, Helga," he said, feeling protective of her. He didn't quite understand why, but it felt natural somehow.

They all looked at each other sadly for a moment before realizing they had to get moving quickly to save everyone.

They all then turned their attention to La Corazon. "No! We're not supposed to look at it." Arnold took his flannel shirt off and wrapped it around La Corazon.

After wrapping it securely, he turned to Gerald.

"Gerald, go get the class ready! Helga and I are going to go get my parents and Lorenda!"

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><p><strong>Hello, readers! Hope you liked this chapter! Please review. =]<br>**


	31. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Adan?" Lorenda asked in disbelief. "Don't trust him! He works for La Sombra!" she yelled to Miles and Stella. In response, they looked at him suspiciously.

"We've seen you before," Miles stated.

Adan slowly walked over to their cell. "I know you think you know who I am. But you're wrong."

"We know you work for that evil man!" Stella spat. She gripped the iron bars of the cell and yelled at him. "I know exactly who you are!"

"I'm a friend of Eduardo's," he stated cautiously.

Stella let go of the iron bars. Her breathing grew ragged. She looked at her husband with wondering eyes and then looked back at Adan. "He's alive?"

Adan simply nodded. "He's sent me to help. He told me to wait for the right moment. I believe that moment is now."

She started to shake her head. "No," she whispered. She looked up and slightly rose her chin. "No, he's abandoned us."

Miles put his hand on her shoulder. "We haven't seen him in nine years. He left us when we needed him the most."

Adan looked down sadly. "He didn't," he said quietly.

"Then where has he been? Hiding like a coward!" Stella yelled bitterly. Her voice echoed in the dungeon.

"He has sent me to watch you. He has not abandoned you," he assured.

Stella scoffed. "What nonsense."

"What do you want?" Miles asked harshly.

"I've come to let you all out," he answered and looked to Lorenda and Adoncia.

Miles and Stella furrowed their eyebrows. They looked to Lorenda who was eying Adan cautiously.

"How do we now you're not trying to trick us?" Stella questioned. "For all we know, you're leading us to another beating."

Lorenda winced as she heard this.

Adan simply answered by holding up a set of keys.

~

"Mr. Simmons, what do we do now?" Lila asked.

"I don't know, Lila," Mr. Simmons answered, shaking his head.

"Should we go back to that temple? Maybe Arnold will come back and look for us," Sid suggested.

"You idiot, that Sombrero guy has him! And Helga and Gerald!" Harold reminded him.

Sid scowled in response. "Well, I don't see you coming up with any ideas," he muttered.

The class looked to each other and then to Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz. Mr. Simmons bit his lip as he thought.

"Maybe that's a good idea..." he murmured.

"Are you sure? What if that guy comes back?" Eugene questioned.

"Well, we'll have some help with us," Principal Wartz smiled and looked to the Green Eye elder. The man smiled back.

"But I think we should rest for now. It's been a long day and we need to have a lot of energy for tomorrow," Mr. Simmons said. He turned to the old man. He started to speak slowly and loudly. "Do you have a place for us to sleep tonight?" he asked, putting his hands together and pretending to sleep.

The man laughed at him and nodded. He showed them the way to their own hut.

"Don't worry, Mr. Simmons," Principal Wartz assured. "This will all work out tomorrow. You'll see," he smiled.

~

"What are we going to do with La Corazon?" Helga asked as she and Arnold ran through the jungle. "And how will Gerald know where to go? Oh, and by the way, do _you_ even have any idea where we're going, football-head?"

"I don't think I've ever heard you ask that many questions," Arnold smirked. "Well," he continued, "we have to go and return this to the Green Eyes. But I don't know where they are. No one does," Arnold panted. He furrowed his eyebrows. _'How _are_ we going to find them?'_ "But don't worry about Gerald," he continued. "He's smart and he'll know where to go."

"Oh, well isn't that just great?! So how are we supposed to find these Green Eye people?" she questioned.

"Well, I know someone who can help us find them," he smiled.

She sighed loudly. "So where are we heading now?" she demanded.

Arnold swallowed hard and ignored the pain in his feet pounding on the ground. "I think we should go back to La Sombra's house," he answered.

Helga stopped suddenly. "Wait, what?"

Arnold reluctantly stopped. "What? We have to go get my parents. La Sombra said he's holding them captive there," he looked at her confused, wondering why this wasn't making sense to her.

"Arnold, have you forgotten that he has these people called, oh I don't know, GUARDS?" she yelled. "How are we supposed to get past them?"

Arnold looked down and thought. "I haven't thought about that yet. But it wouldn't be the first time I'd have to get past guards. Me and Gerald got past a lots of them when we were at the FTi tower," he said.

Helga blushed a little when he mentioned the FTi tower. She looked away from him and kicked a rock on the ground.

"Well, do you have a flashlight? It's getting kind of dark," she pointed out.

Arnold looked up to the sky. The sun was starting to set. "Oh, yeah..." he replied. He stayed where he was lost in thought.

They both stayed silent. Helga felt awkward as she thought of what to say next. She looked at him and came to a realization.

_'We. Are. Alone. For the first time on this stinkin' trip, we're finally alone!'_ She suddenly felt giddy and tried to calm herself. _'Okay, calm down, nutcase. You just saw a guy die an hour ago!'_ she rolled her eyes internally. _'But maybe this is my chance to bond with him. Yeah, show him my soft side and all that junk.'_

"I think we should just rest for now," she started slowly. "We need to get some sleep. It's been uh...quite a day," she suggested.

"Yeah, I guess," Arnold agreed. He looked around. "I hope Gerald will do the same. Let's look around for a place to sleep then."

They both walked around for a moment before deciding on sleeping under a tree. They both lied down next to each other, but with much space between them.

Helga looked up at the sky and thought about how to start her romantic speech. She wondered if Arnold could feel the tension in the air. _'He's probably not even thinking about it. That dense moron.'_ She glanced at him. _'That cute, dense moron..'_

Arnold suddenly looked over to her. She quickly turned her eyes towards the sky.

"Helga, I don't think I ever said thanks for you being here," he commented.

"What?" she asked, raising her unibrow.

"Yeah. I mean, I know you're not really happy to be here, but it really means a lot that you are," he smiled.

Helga smiled back before frowning. "Yeah, well, I guess I'm glad to help you," she muttered. "And thanks for saving me back at the bridge," she said in an even lower voice.

Arnold smiled wider. "You're welcome, Helga. I had to make sure you were okay."

"Really?" Helga asked in surprise. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course I was," he answered.

"Oh, well..thanks," she said resisting the urge to sigh softly.

"You know, you're really not that bad, Helga," he teased.

"Oh, stop being a throw pillow, would ya?" she chided. She turned around so she was now facing away from him. She smiled to herself and sighed. She took out her locket and kissed it. _'Goodnight, my sweet prince.'_

"Goodnight, Helga," Arnold said, fighting back a chuckle.


	32. Chapter 29

**Super sorry for the really long delays, everyone. I'm having health issues that's bringing me down a bit, and it also cost me my job. I've just been able to get back into the groove of editing and re-editing my story. My OCD takes over sometimes. lol But, I hope you all enjoy the next chapter! Thank you so so much for all the reviews and follows!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 29<p>

Helga awoke to a sound she found to be very annoying. _'Ugh. Where is that wretched noise coming from?'_ She sat up and rubbed her eyes. She blinked and she waited for her eyes to adjust to the brightness of the morning. She then twisted to her side to crack her back and stretched her arms out. _'Much better.'_

She scowled as the sound continued. She turned to the direction it was coming from. Arnold was curled up on his side sleeping, and was snoring very loudly. Helga rolled her eyes. She reached over and shoved his shoulder. "HEY! FOOTBALL-HEAD!"

Arnold shot up. "What?! What is it?! Are you okay?!"

Helga started to laugh. "Yeah, I'm fine other than the fact that I was woken up by your obnoxious snoring."

Arnold yawned and then scowled. "Yeah, well, I haven't exactly been sleeping well."

"Yeah, great excuse," she waved him off. She got up and stretched more. "So, where we heading to now?"

Arnold rubbed his eyes and scratched his head. "Well, I thought about it last night, and...I guess it would be better to get my parents with the whole class. That way, if the guards are there, they can all help and we can set my parents free."

"Ah, now you're making more sense," Helga teased.

Arnold smiled at her in response. "Alright, I guess we should get going then." He slowly got up and stretched his arms out. He checked to make sure he still had his father's journal and started to walk.

"Uhh, aren't you forgetting about something? Or are you not human?" she snapped.

Arnold stopped and gave her a confused look.

She rolled her eyes. "Breakfast? I'm starving here!"

"Oh," Arnold furrowed his eyebrows. "Uhm...I guess we just have to look around and see what we can find. Maybe there's trees around here that grow fruit, right?"

"I guess. You better hope so or you'll have to deal with me being grumpy all day," she said bitterly.

_'When are you not grumpy?'_ Arnold thought, fighting a grimace. "Let's go and see if we can find anything on the way," he suggested.

Helga scowled at the thought of them not being able to find anything for a while, but walked along beside him. She mused of what to say. _'Should I talk? He could be deep in thought...maybe I shouldn't disturb him.'_ She pondered over this for the next few minutes that they walked. All the while, she also wondered if Arnold could pick up on the awkward, at least for her, silence.

Arnold was in fact lost in thought as they walked. He was thinking of what was going to happen, and if it all would happen according to plan. And where was Adan? And would Gerald find his way back?

"Hey, Arnold?" Helga asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Hmm?" he replied absentmindedly, pushing a big branch out of their way.

"Are you nervous? About meeting your parents?" she asked quietly.

Arnold thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I am. It's something I've waited my entire life for, but...what if they don't recognize me?" he wondered aloud.

Helga snorted with laughter. "Sorry to break it you, but anyone with a football-head like yours would be hard to forget," she teased.

Arnold smiled at the joke. "I hope you're right," he smirked.

"Of course I am," she said confidently.

Arnold looked at her for a moment. "Helga, why can't you be this nice all the time?" he asked suddenly.

Helga rolled her eyes. "I've told you this before. This is just who I am. I'm mean and a bully. It's what I do," she shrugged matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but if you let people see who you really are, maybe.." he trailed off.

"Maybe what?" she snapped, suddenly getting defensive.

"Well, I mean, you can be really nice. Maybe if you were nice to everyone, more people would be nice to you in return," he finished. He bit his lip, anticipating her reaction.

Helga scowled reflexively. "What's it to you, anyway?"

Arnold debated with himself for a moment, wondering if he should drop it. "It's just that I know how nice you can be, and I think it's..well, really sad that you have to put guards up with everyone."

Helga fought to keep her feet moving. She wanted to freeze. She wanted to pound him, for no reason at all. _'He really sees through me.'_ She couldn't come up with a response, and Arnold took that as an ending to the conversation.

They walked in silence after that. As they walked, they came upon a tree with big, ripe fruit. Arnold commented that it reminded him of a mango, while Helga stayed silent. They both sat down and ate ravenously, suddenly becoming aware of how hungry they truly were. After they finished, they continued their journey back to the temple. The sun was now at its peak and was glaring down upon them.

Helga wiped sweat from her forehead. She was walking a little behind Arnold and watched him walk. She wondered if he ever thought about their moment on the FTi tower, and if it meant anything to him. Over the past months, she would kick herself internally, wishing she had never given in to that moment of passion. Now she was sure that he was repulsed by her. _'Who would ever want a nutcase like me?'_

As they walked, images of Helga ran through Arnold's mind. For a reason he couldn't explain, he wanted to continue speaking to her. He wanted to confide to her everything he felt about his parents. He felt bad for saying that she put guards up, but he knew that she had insecurities. _'But this is _HELGA_,'_ he thought. _'She hates m-'_ his thought broke off.

He suddenly remembered her speech from the FTi tower. _'I LOVE YOU!'_ she had proclaimed. He tried to understand why he had buried that memory so deep into his mind and why he couldn't acknowledge it.

Helga had been there for him, disguising herself as Deep Voice, when he never asked her to help. Would she really have done that if she truly hated him?

_'Could she really...love me?'_ he gulped. She was mean and nasty, but he had seen her softer side more than once.

_'Was I the only one to see her soft side?'_ he wondered. And here she was now, in a very dangerous situation when he didn't ask her to be. She's actually risking her life to help him. HIM, of all people.

Arnold came to a realization. He looked to his side and saw Helga looking down, lost in thought. He took in her frayed appearance. He realized he actually found her to be pretty. He had always respected Helga as a person. He tried to remember everything that he knew about her, the soft side of her. The times when she would momentarily drop her walls, and he could see her for who she was. Just a soft, frail girl who needed a good friend. _'Maybe I could be that friend for her..'_ he thought. He started to think about his own feelings towards her. _'Maybe I could be more. Could I really like her? _Like her_ like her?'_

Miles and Stella squinted in the morning sunlight. They had spent the rest of the night before eating food they had forgotten about and slept on a mattress that they almost didn't want to leave in the morning. Adan had fed them all and told them to rest, for in the morning they would be starting their journey to a temple.

"Did food always taste this good?" Miles had said through mouthfuls of food.

Now, they held their arms up to shield their eyes. Lorenda and Adan looked to each other in shock as they saw more clearly the extent of Miles and Stella's conditions. They were so pale after being in the dark for who knows how many months, or possibly, years at a time. They were emaciated and looked sickly.

"So, are we going to go?" Stella asked, oblivious to their expressions. "I want to see my son."

Adan nodded quickly. Lorenda held Adoncia's hand and made sure to keep her close at all times. Adan pointed to the side of the home. They all looked to see a big jeep. Lorenda grimaced.

"I'd like to ride in the front," she said bitterly.

Adan simply nodded again. "Perhaps we should all ride in the front," he suggested.

Everyone mutually agreed to that. They got in the jeep and started to make their way to the temple. Adan was lost in thought, thinking of what could be waiting for them. He started to explained to the group that the guards are holding the class hostage, and that they will want to fight. Miles and Stella were barely listening to his warnings and plans. They were bracing themselves for meeting their son.

They looked around as they rode, everything feeling surreal. They were here and they were doing this. Stella reached for Miles' hand and squeezed it. They shared a knowing look. _'This is it,'_ they silently thought. They felt a sense of overwhelming anxiety, happiness, and fear.

"This is it," they heard Adan say as they arrived at the temple.


	33. Chapter 30

**Thank you so much for all the reviews, everyone. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 30<p>

"Is this guy going to take us back to the temple or not?" Principal Wartz muttered as he and the class walked through the jungle. They were being led by the elderly Green Eye member, unsure of his sense of direction.

"Principal Wartz, a little faith," Mr. Simmons replied impatiently.

They had woken up early that morning and were grateful to have been fed by the Green Eyes. As they ate, they got to see just how many members there were.

"Phoebe, I thought you said they died out," Sheena wondered as she saw more and more members walk around the village.

"Well, it was widely believed to be so," Phoebe insisted.

Now the class were making their way to the temple. They all had wavering hope of finding Arnold, Gerald, and Helga there.

"D'ya reckon Arnold will be there?" Stinky asked Sid.

Harold answered for him. "Of course not! Why would Sombrero bring him back?"

Phoebe overheard and grimaced. _'How are we ever going to get out of this mess?'_

They walked and walked for what seemed like forever.

"Why is it taking longer to get back than it took to get to the tribe?" Sid asked as he took his hat off and fanned himself with it. His black, stringy hair was flat against his head, and he stuck his tongue out like a dog.

"It's the longing and anticipation," Harold answered absentmindedly.

Everyone looked at him in a puzzled expression. He was oblivious to their reactions and concentrated on his hunger. But before he could complain, the elderly man stopped walking. He turned around and pointed towards a clearing through the brush of the jungle. The temple was now in view. The class sighed in relief and walked ahead of the man. Once they made it to the front of the temple, the class fell to the ground in exhaustion, including Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz.

"I think I'm done with the wilderness for a while," Nadine panted.

The group started to laugh at her, briefly forgetting their situation. After a few minutes of resting, they all heard a faint sound of an engine running. As the sound grew louder, they got up and started to back away slowly. A jeep was now in view, and it was coming quite fast towards them.

"IT'S THE SOMBRERO'S JEEP! EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!" Curly yelled. The class started to panic and run behind the temple.

"Wait, wait!" Mr. Simmons yelled. But before he knew it, he was left alone with the elderly Green Eye, and the new arrivals in the jeep. Mr. Simmons stepped closer beside the elder man, who was looking on solemnly.

~

"Who is he?" Stella asked. Adan had turned the jeep off, but no one moved. They all scrutinized the appearance of the two men standing several feet from them.

"That's the teacher of th-," Adan started to answer.

"No, no," Miles interrupted. "Who's that man with him?"

Adan and Lorenda took a closer look. No one said anything as they all came to a realization. Miles and Stella immediately ran out of the jeep. They started to run towards Mr. Simmons and the elderly man.

Mr. Simmons jumped back as Miles and Stella reached them. He was shocked at their appearance, rugged and crazed-looking. They started to speak quickly and asked a whole bunch of questions that Mr. Simmons couldn't make out. They pointed to the man's necklace. He flinched as he heard the elderly man gasp loudly. Confused by the elderly man's reaction, he stepped back.

The elderly Green Eye stretched his arms out and hugged Stella and Miles. They cried silently. Adan and Lorenda walked up slowly after a few moments. Neither of them could believe they were looking at a real Green Eye. They, along with Mr. Simmons, stood by silently.

After a few minutes, the class slowly started to emerge from behind the temple. They all gasped as they took in the appearance of the two strangers.

"Mr. Simmons, do you think those two are from that letter you read?" Eugene asked.

Mr. Simmons remembered the letter and suddenly felt overwhelmed. Miles and Stella suddenly let go of the elderly man, becoming aware of everyone else's presence, and started to look at all the students. They were only looking for one student, and felt desperate when they didn't see him.

"Where is he?" Stella snapped.

"W-who?" Principal Wartz asked, startled.

"Arnold! Where is my son?" she started to raise her voice eagerly.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"YOU'RE Arnold's parents?!"

"Are you really his parents?"

"Are you Mil? From that letter?"

The class all blurted out.

She ignored their questions and turned to Adan. "You said we would see him. Where is he?" she growled. Miles glared at Adan as well. After going years without social interaction, outside of La Sombra and his guards, they had forgotten to control their anger.

"O-okay," Principal Wartz started nervously, "he's going to come back here. We're just waiting for him," Principal Wartz answered. He was holding his hands up cautiously.

"HAH!" they all suddenly heard. They turned around to see figures emerge from the brush of the jungle. "He's not coming back! He's never coming back! He's DEAD!" the voice shouted.

Francis stepped out into the clearing and laughed at them. He and the rest of the guards looked disoriented and crazed, as if they had been wandering in the jungle for years. "You're never going to see your son again," he taunted. "La Sombra is going to win. He always wins," he continued. He looked to Adan. "Shame you had to wuss out, Adan."

Miles and Stella balled their fists in anger. The rest of the group glared at the guards. The class walked over to join Miles and Stella. Francis and his guards stopped. The two groups were now having a stand off.

"Face it, you've lost. La Sombra's on his way back by now with what he wants," Francis continued. He started to walk forward when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his to see more clearly. Two dark figures were walking towards them. As he realized who it was, as did the guards, Miles and Stella, and Lorenda, they all gasped in shock.

"Is that..?" Lorenda asked in disbelief.

"Eduardo," Miles and Stella simultaneously finished her thought.


	34. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Adan looked toward his friend and father-figure. "Amigo!" he burst out in surprise as he walked forward. "Donde estabas?! Por que estas aqui?!" he demanded.

Eduardo held a hand up to silence him. Another figure emerged beside him. The class gasped.

"GERALD!" they yelled in unison. Gerald smiled and ran to them. They all crowded around him and hugged him. Mr. Simmons almost fainted at the sight.

"Gerald, where were you?!"

"What happened, are you okay?"

"Where's Arnold and Helga? Did they make it?!'

"Who's this guy you're with, Gerald?" they all asked him at the same time.

Miles and Stella turned their attention to the class at the mention of Arnold.

"Arnold? He was with you?!" Miles asked him, his eyes wide.

Gerald nodded. "Well, he _was_."

"Well! What happened, young man?" Principal Wartz demanded.

The class grew silent as Gerald looked back at Eduardo. "Well, it's kind of a long story," he started and turned back to his classmates. "Me, Arnold, and Helga split up. They stayed together and were going to look for his parents, while I was supposed to come get you guys," he gulped. "I was running in the jungle, and I got really lost. I wandered around for most of the night when I got too tired to go any more. So, I slept under a tree, but I didn't get to sleep for too long. I woke up to a guy talking to me and shaking me. That's him," he said, signaling for Eduardo to walk up. "He helped me get here," he finished.

"Well, where's La Sombra? How did you escape?" Mr. Simmons asked.

Gerald looked down and hesitated. "He...well, he..." he said, not able to get the words out.

"He what?" Principal Wartz questioned.

"Well, he kicked the bucket," Gerald said grimly. Everyone gasped in shock.

"O-oh my! H-how?" Mr. Simmons stammered.

"We don't have time for that," Eduardo interjected.

Stella and Miles stared at Eduardo. Anger, worry, and confusion filled their minds and hearts. Eduardo looked back at them. He had aged significantly. He had also lost a lot of weight over the years, and wrinkles and scars covered his tanned face. He was starting to grow gray hair, and, like the guards, looked like he had been wandering around the jungle for years. He grimaced when he looked at Miles and Stella. He was ashamed to see them in their state, for he was still strong and they were weak.

"You left us," Stella said bitterly and forcefully. "You left us to die."

Eduardo took a deep breath and looked down. Miles put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"After everything we did for you," Miles added. "How could you just...leave us like that?"

"I thought I was protecting you," he said quietly. "I sent Adan to watch over you."

"Yeah, well a lot of good that did!" Miles yelled, full of contempt. "Look at us! We're nothing like we used to be! We missed seeing our son grow up! And where have you been? Hiding like a coward!"

"Well, you'd be a lot worse if it wasn't for Adan! He talked to La Sombra and saved you! You would've been killed years ago!" Eduardo argued back.

Everyone had grown silent. Gerald scrutinized their appearance, and assumed they could only be Arnold's parents. _'Where is he?'_

"I'm sorry, my friends. Truly," Eduardo quavered, almost inaudibly. "I never thought it would be like this. I never thought you would have been captured, but I did what I thought was best. Forgive me, please," he cried.

Miles and Stella looked at each other, sadness now covering their faces. After a few moments, Miles squeezed Stella's shoulder before walking forward and holding out his hand. Eduardo was overcome with emotion as he took Miles' hand and shook it. Stella smiled softly at him to show her forgiveness.

"Ugh," Francis groaned loudly. "Enough of this. We did not get captured by those stupid villagers and get taken away to deal with this. No more games! It's time to show you, _ALL_ of you, who's in charge around here," he jeered. He started to walk forward menacingly, and turned to his thirty guards. They hadn't moved to follow him.

"Well! What are you waiting for!" he yelled.

The guards looked at each other. A burly guard stepped forward slightly.

"We don't take orders from you. We wait for La Sombra," he chided.

Francis clenched his jaw. "What did I say? La Sombra left _ME_ in charge! That means you do what I say!"

Another guard, the smallest of them all, spoke up. "Well what do you expect us to do? Kill them? They're kids!"

Francis scoffed in annoyance. "What? You're afraid of a bunch of kids?!" Francis bellowed to the guards.

"Not just kids," Eduardo said sternly. Francis turned with a scowl on his face. Eduardo, Miles and Stella stepped forward, their arms spread out to their sides, showing their protection over the class. Mr. Simmons gulped and did the same. Principal Wartz hesitantly joined them. Lorenda hid Adoncia behind Rhonda and joined the adults. The elderly Green Eye man was the last to join them.

Francis started to laugh at them. "This? Haha, this is what we're up against?" he chortled, throwing back his head in laughter.

The elderly Green Eye man took out a flute-looking instrument and blew it. Francis raised an eyebrow. After a few moments, he suddenly started to widen his eyes. The guards started to back away slowly.

Members of The Green Eyes started to appear from the brush of the jungle. Many were armed with handmade spears.

"There must be 50 of them!" one of the guards shouted in panic.

"Silence!" Francis scolded. "We can take them! Forget La Sombra, we do this now!"

For a moment, everyone braced themselves. And then, in the blink of an eye, the battle started. Everyone, the students included, started running towards their enemies.

~

"Do you know where you're going, football-face?" Helga asked, panting. Her hair was flattening against her head, and her hair-bow was starting to come undone.

"Yes, Helga," he sighed. He had repeated this to her about ten times.

"What are we going to do if they're not there, huh? Have you come up with a plan then? How are we going to get past the guards? Have you even thought of that?" Helga asked in a scolding manner.

"Helga," he said through clenched teeth. He was losing his patience with her. "I've told you before. They will be there. Stop bothering me!" he argued.

Before Helga could respond in her anger, they both started to hear screaming and yelling. They both looked at each other in panic and started to run towards the sound. They started to see a clearing and ran even faster.

"The temple! I can see it!" Arnold yelled. He ran even faster with Helga keeping up with him. They ran through the clearing, but immediately came to a halt at the sight. Their classmates were charging forward and fighting with the guards. There was chaos everywhere, they couldn't make out who was who. There were people fighting that they didn't recognize, and weren't sure whose side they were on.

"Criminy, what's happening?!" Helga wailed.

Before Arnold could answer, he caught a glimpse of an elderly man throwing a punch, hitting Francis in the face.


	35. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Francis fell to the ground, his face slamming hard onto the hard earth. After a moment, he picked his head up and felt his jaw. He spit out a tooth and blood. He blinked several times, trying to make his vision clear. He looked around and saw the chaos that erupted in the seconds he was on the ground. Everyone was running around screaming and yelling and fighting. He rubbed his jaw and shook his head. _'How did I not see that old man?'_ he berated himself.

"ONWARD, SOLDIERS!" Curly yelled as he laughed maniacally and started to attack one of the guards. He jumped on the guard's shoulders and covered his eyes. The guard ran around and reached his arms up, trying to get Curly off of him.

Meanwhile, Rhonda was swatting away at a guard with one of her luxurious Oriental fans. "Get away from me, you cretin!" Harold looked over and saw another guard sneaking up behind her. He immediately ran and shoved the other guard away. Rhonda turned around, somewhat oblivious to what just happened. She saw the guard on the ground and Harold's fists clenched. She smiled at him. "Not bad for a goof-ball," she smirked. Harold smiled back at her before running to fight off more guards.

"No! You. Won't. Be. Hurting. Any. More. Children!" Mr. Simmons spoke each word the same time he hit a guard with his disposable camera and charged after another guard.

"My good sir, may I have one of those things?" Principal Wartz asked a Green Eye member. He was referring to a weapon. The man raised an eyebrow, but gave him a spear. Principal Wartz held it above his head and shouted, "TIME TO SALSA!" He then turned to the Green Eye member. "I've always wanted to say that!" He ran off and charged after a guard.

Eugene was standing still, hoping no one would get him. He turned around when he heard a scream. Lila had just been grabbed by a guard and was getting pulled away to the brush of the jungle. Eugene gulped and suddenly felt very brave.

"HEY, MISTER!" he yelled.

The guard turned around and glared at him for a moment, before grinning. He let go of Lila and she fell to the ground.

"Eugene, be careful!" she shouted.

Eugene put his fists up and started to jump around the guard. "You want her? You have to get through me first!" The guard turned around and around, and tried to keep up with Eugene's quick movements. Eugene kept getting inching farther into the edge of the jungle. As soon as the guard saw a chance, he made a leap for Eugene.

Eugene whimpered, but had his fists ready. The guard jumped at Eugene and they both fell to the ground with a loud and hard thud. _CRACK!_

Eugene squirmed around at first, trying to get his hands free from under the guard's heavy body. Immediately, he felt something was off. The guard was not moving. Lila came over to help.

"I'm okay!" Eugene grunted. He was having a hard time breathing fully under the guard's weight. He looked up at Lila. "Uh, what happened?"

"I think he hit his head on this tree," she said. Eugene tilted his head back, and saw a tree three inches from his face.

She helped Eugene get out from under the guard. As soon as he was out, she suddenly hugged him. "Oh, Eugene! You saved me!" she cried. She impulsively gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Eugene blushed and rubbed his cheek. "Uh, no problem," he said, his voice quavering.

~

"Let's go!" Arnold yelled to Helga. He started running to help the first person he saw; Sheena. She had two guards ganging up on her. Before Arnold could reach her, he saw her close her eyes, bracing herself, and kick her leg out as strong as she could. One of the guards fell to the ground in pain, grabbing his groin. He crumpled on the ground unable to move.

"Get up, idiot!" the guard said and kicked his side. While the other guard was distracted, a man Arnold didn't recognize hit the guard with a spear. Arnold saw he was wearing a necklace with a symbol on it. _'A Green Eye!'_

Arnold looked around and saw the mess that was happening. His classmates were all over the place. They were fighting together with the Green Eyes. He saw Stinky and Sid run back and forth and yelling. Arnold looked around again and froze.

Arnold's eyes came upon Helga. Her pigtails had come off, so her hair was down. It was messy and one eye was covered. Her bow was barely hanging on her head. He immediately thought of Cecil. All of the feelings he felt on Valentine's Day, and the memories of that night came flooding back to him. He was overcome with a feeling he could only assume was passion and walked over to her on impulse.

Helga had just punched a guard in the face when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and turned around, ready to throw another punch.

"Oh! CRIMINY! I almost punched you, football-head!" She scrutinized him and became confused with his expression. "What's wrong with you?"

Arnold simply looked in her eyes. He was mesmerized and wondered why he couldn't see it before. "Helga..."

"Oh, what?! Spit it out, football-head!" she said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. She looked around quickly to see if any guards were behind her.

Arnold braced himself and grabbed her shoulders. She immediately tensed up and widened her eyes in shock. She was like a deer caught in headlights as she saw Arnold inch his face towards her own.

"What are yo-" was all she could get out before she felt lips pressing hard against hers. She stayed frozen, unable to think clearly. And then she found herself kissing Arnold back. _'OH MY GOSH! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING?'_ she screamed in her head.

"Uhh, am I interrupting?" a voice asked suddenly.

Arnold immediately let her go and stepped back. He turned to see Gerald standing with his arms crossed and shaking his head.

"You're a bold kid, Arnold," he said and tried not to laugh. Helga gulped and ran off. Arnold saw her run to Phoebe and help her fight off a guard.

"It's about time you're here, man!" Gerald laughed. Arnold was blushing furiously while Gerald rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"So, what happened?" Arnold asked, clearing his throat.

"It's kind of a long story. And I should be asking you the same thing," he smirked.

Their conversation was broken when a guard stomped over to them. Arnold and Gerald shared a knowing look before turning back to the guard. As he got closer, Arnold and Gerald ran towards him and both punched him in the face. He fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Whoa, I guess we don't know our own strength!" Gerald yelled. They both laughed and did their handshake. "By the way," Gerald continued, "your parents are here."

~

Elsewhere, Miles and Stella were fighting off guards left and right. They were the main target, and despite their looks, they still had a lot of their strength.

"Miles, do you see him?!" Stella screamed anxiously. She looked around desperately. They had their backs to each other and were fighting off guards while looking for Arnold.

"Not yet!" he grunted as he threw a left hook to a guard. Green Eye members also surrounded them, fighting off more guards coming for them.

Stella looked around again and she saw two boys throw a punch to a guard. One of the boys had his back to her. He had black hair that looked to be very frizzy and was flattened. Behind him, all she was blond spiky hair. She tried to move around at an angle to get a better look at the other boy. As the guard fell to the ground, she saw the two boys do a handshake. Then, she saw the blond boy had a foot-ball shaped head.

She gasped so loudly, a few members of the Green Eyes turned around in concern. "MILES!" she screamed. "MILES! IT'S HIM!" she pointed frantically.

Miles moved his eyes to the direction she was pointing. He saw the football-headed boy talking with the black-haired boy and his eyes grew wide. Miles' breathing sped up and he instinctively started to move toward the blond boy. He saw the boy start to look around frantically. Stella joined Miles as he made his way to the blond boy.

"ARNOLD!" they called.

Arnold turned to the sound of his name. As soon as they made eye contact, everything froze. No one was fighting, no one screaming, no one else was even there. It was just Miles, Stella, and finally, their son. For a moment, he was taken aback by their appearance. He looked at their faces and tried to think of who they could be. He looked at their wrinkles and the emaciated faces. He squinted hard and suddenly, it hit him. "Mom? Dad?" he whispered.

Hesitantly, Arnold started to walk forward. Miles and Stella matched the movement slowly. As they moved towards each other, they started to pick up their pace. Each step grew more with anticipation and speed. Stella and Miles ran as fast as she could to Arnold. Tears were forming in all of their eyes until, at last, they were holding each other. Arnold's arms reached Stella first. He swung his arms around her and he felt hers and Miles wrap tightly around him. They all fell to the ground on their knees and cried. Arnold quickly tried to soak up as much as he could; his mother's soft skin, Mile's voice, their smell.

"Oh, my little boy!" Stella sobbed as she cradled Arnold's head into her and Miles' chest.

Arnold looked up and through tear-blurred eyes, took a look at his parents. They were exactly as he saw in his picture of them, yet they were almost unrecognizable. Stella smiled through her tears and caressed her son's face. Miles ruffled his son's hair. They both hugged him again and said many 'I love you's and gave him enough kisses to make up for lost time.

Their moment was suddenly broken when Francis who, in a fit of rage, grabbed Arnold by his arm and shoved him away from them. The two became entangled in a fight as Arnold tried to break free and reached for his parents.

"_HEY!_" a loud voice growled menacingly from behind them. Francis turned around with a scowl ready to throw a punch, but quickly widened his eyes as he saw who was speaking to him. "Get away from my son," Miles yelled as he sucker-punched him, knocking him out.


	36. Chapter 33

**Thank you all for the kind reviews! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 33<p>

Francis woke up with a jump. He sat up to find himself unable to move his arms or legs. He tried to yell out, but also found that he could not speak. He was tied up, as was the rest of his guards. They were being thrown one by one into the back of La Sombra's truck.

Francis got his mouth free from its prison. "Wait until La Sombra comes back! He'll get all of you!" he exclaimed.

"I don't think so," Gerald replied. "He kind of..." he finished by making a whistling sound.

Francis stayed silent, too shocked to respond. Members of the Green Eyes threw Francis into the back of the truck and slammed the door. The guards were yelling at them, begging to be let out.

Adan got in the truck and started it up.

"Where will you take them?" Sid asked.

Adan thought for a moment. Eduardo walked up to Adan and told him something out of everyone's earshot. Adan grinned and drove away.

"What'd you tell him?" Harold asked.

Eduardo turned to him and smiled. "I think those men need to take a very long walk in the jungle. Maybe for a few years."

The class laughed and cheered. Eduardo turned his attention to Miles and Stella.

"My friends," he started, "I think it's time you went home."

Miles and Stella smiled and turned to Arnold.

"What do you think, son?" Miles asked.

Arnold smirked. "I think that's a great idea."

Mr. Simmons suddenly spoke up. "I don't know how to thank you," he said and shook Miles' hand feverishly. He then went around to the members of the Green Eyes and did the same. He walked up to the Green Eye elder and hugged him. The man stiffened up, The Green Eye tribe nodded and bowed to the class and started to disappear back into the jungle.

"Hey, wait!" Arnold called after them. Stella laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him. She smiled softly at him.

"Let them go, son," she said calmly.

"But why?" he asked.

"They want to stay in secret," Miles answered. "It's how they are."

Arnold nodded in understanding. "Can we go home?"

"YES!" Everyone answered. They laughed as they made their way back to the cabins. When they arrived there, they all gasped in amazement. The villagers had decorated the small village in the same manner they had earlier in the week for their party celebration.

"Oh, and I don't even have my dress on!" Rhonda moaned. "I look disgusting," she berated herself.

"Uhm, Mr. Simmons? What happened to all of our luggage?" Sheena asked.

Mr. Simmons thought for a moment. He had forgotten that the guards had taken away all of their belongings. "I'm afraid I don't know, Sheena," he mumbled. "And they had all of our return tickets in there as well...oh, what will we do, Principal Wartz?!" he questioned. His anxiety was beginning to reach capacity.

Principal Wartz sighed loudly. "I don't know, Mr. Simmons." The class started to moan and worry.

A villager that was walking by stopped when she heard the commotion. She walked up to Lorenda and asked what was wrong. Lorenda explained that everyone's luggage was missing and they had no way home. The villager looked at her confusingly and proceeded to talk very quickly. She laughed and walked away, all the while shaking her head.

Lorenda cleared her throat and spoke over everyone's arguing. "HEY!" The group stopped and looked at her. "I think you'll all want to check your cabins," she smirked.

The class hesitated for a moment before running to their cabins. Phoebe was the first to arrive at the girls' cabins, Sid arrived first at the boys, and Principal Wartz arrived at his and Mr. Simmons' cabin. They all walked into their cabins and gasped in awe. All of their luggage was there, and hanging from every piece of luggage was a necklace with the Green Eye symbol. The girls immediately put the necklaces on and checked their bags.

"But how did they get it here?" Phoebe wondered aloud.

"Who cares! I got my bag back!" Rhonda yelled happily.

Nadine rummaged through her bag and jars of insects. "My magnifying glass!"

Lila took out her clothes and folded them neatly back into her suitcase. Sheena was sitting on her bed and admiring her new necklace.

Helga rolled her eyes. She looked down at the necklace and cradled the symbol. She smiled to herself and blushed, thinking of the past few hours.

Phoebe smirked at her. "What are you so happy about?" she asked.

Helga looked at her best friend and smiled wider. "Just ready to go home," she shrugged.

~

Sid was trying to fit the necklace around his head. "It won't fit!" he complained.

"That's why you untie it, genius," Curly hissed.

Harold made a face and was about to retort, but suddenly changed his mind. He got up from his bed and walked up to Curly. He stopped and looked down. "I just uh...wanted to say..that was some good fighting back there," he

muttered. He took out his hand. Curly lifted his chin slightly and shook Harold's hand.

"You do it like this, Sid," Stinky declared. He untied his own necklace and put it around his neck to demonstrate. He then stood up and stretched. "Whillikers, what. a. day," he said and flopped back onto his bed.

Eugene was getting ready for the villagers' party, while Brainy was going through his luggage. Gerald was also going through his luggage, when he was about to say something to Arnold. He looked up and realized he wasn't there. His suitcase wasn't beside his bed. Gerald furrowed his eyebrows and looked out the window.

Arnold was sitting on the ground with Miles and Stella. They were looking at the Green Eye necklace and talking and laughing with each other. Gerald smiled and was happy that his best friend finally got everything he wanted. He waited for a few more minutes before deciding on seeing if Phoebe wanted to hang out with him. He made his way to the girls' cabin and smiled even wider when Phoebe was already outside waiting for him. She smiled at him and waved. _'What a great trip,'_ he thought.

~

It was in the evening when the party finally started. The villagers gathered around a fire with instruments such as drums, trumpets and guitars. Some of the villagers were already dancing around the fire. Rhonda dragged Nadine to join them, much to Nadine's displeasure. Sheena and Eugene were more than happy to join and dance with the villagers.

"A 5, 6, 7, 8, and JUMP!" they sang in harmony and danced.

Helga was the last to come out of her cabin. She had debated with herself on going to the party. She walked around and spotted Phoebe. She started to walk over to her, but stopped in her tracks when she saw Gerald walk up holding two drinks. Phoebe blushed and grabbed the drink he brought for her.

Helga smirked and looked at the villagers. She saw Rhonda dancing, oblivious to Nadine standing still with her arms crossed, a bit of a scowl on her face. She saw Harold at the concession table, grabbing anything and everything to eat. She saw Lila standing at the end of the table looking on as Helga was. Stinky and Sid were looking at the girls in front of them and mustering up the courage to ask one of them to dance.

Helga was enjoying looking at everyone when she suddenly heard a nasally breathing. It started to get louder and she started to feel the breath on her neck. She fought the urge to bring her fist up and instead turned around.

"Well, well. Brainy," she started, "I have to say I'm really glad to see you."

Brainy stayed silent. He had multiple bruises on his face. He looked to the left and right nervously, unsure of her intentions.

"I never thought I'd see you again. So, I'll let you off the hook for now. I think I can deal with your breathing for a while," she teased. "Well, at least for tonight," she tacked on. She laughed when Brainy started to smile and blush.

"So, are you going to join the rest of those lunatics and dance?"

"Uh..I don't know," he shrugged.

Helga put her arm around his shoulder, to which he tensed up. "I think you should go dance with Lila," she suggested and pointed in her direction.

Brainy looked up and saw Lila standing alone. He smiled slightly and nodded. "Uh..okay," he replied. Helga patted him on his shoulder and sent him on his way. She smiled as she saw Lila nod modestly and walk with him to the group. Lila started to dance while Brainy awkwardly swayed side to side. Helga shook her head and couldn't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" she heard. She gasped and turned around.

"How many times do I have to say it; don't sneak up on me like that, football-head!" she growled. Arnold smirked at her and joined her in watching the crowd. She couldn't help but turn red as she remembered what happened the last time she was alone with him.

"Where are your parents?" she asked.

Arnold nodded to the Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz' cabin. "They wanted to get ready for traveling. It's going to be a pretty big shock to them, I think," he answered.

Arnold admitted to himself that he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to go to sleep in his own bed, but he talked himself into seeing Helga before they left the next morning. "So, uh.." he started, "it's been a pretty crazy day, huh?" he asked, and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

Helga's eyes slightly widened and she laughed nervously. "Haha, yeah...said some pretty crazy things?" she asked.

She knew she said the same thing back at the FTi tower, but hoped this would have a better outcome.

Arnold smiled. "Yeah, I would say so," he said.

They stayed silent for a moment.

"Look, I just-" they both started. "N-no, you go first," they said together again.

Arnold sighed and grabbed Helga's hand. "Let's just take things slowly," he suggested.

Helga gulped and nodded quickly. She was unable to speak for fear of blurting out all of her feelings. They mutually agreed to leaving it at that for the rest of the night. And like that, they stood side by side, silent, and holding each other's hand.


	37. Chapter 34

**Epilogue will be up soon! Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 34<p>

_"Grandma! Grandpa! They're here!" Arnold shouted. He had just run through the door of the Sunset Arms. His parents were still getting out of the taxi before Phil and Gertie ran outside. Gertie began crying as she threw her arms around Miles. Phil fought back tears as he hugged Stella tightly. The boarders came out and celebrated with them. Arnold spent the rest of the day with his parents and grandparents._

"Hey, Arnold! Wake up!" Gerald called. It was the next morning after the villagers' party. The class had all gone to sleep very late, but didn't mind being woken up early to go back home.

Arnold opened his eyes. "I'm not sleeping, I was thinking," he mumbled. He had imagined what the reunion at home would be like. He sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes. He stretched and yawned before getting dressed. The boys in the cabin were talking animatedly, all happy to be going home.

"Man, I can't wait to get back into my own bed and eat my mom's cooking," Gerald remarked.

"You can say that again. I think my mom's got a cake ready for me," Harold sighed dreamily as he packed his Wally stuffed animal.

The boys laughed at him and were ready to set out. They all carried their luggage outside and waited on the porch of the cabin. Arnold felt everything was surreal. He truly couldn't believe any of the past few days had happened. He heard the girls approaching, and finally Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz. Arnold had to admit to himself that everyone look horrible. They had bruises all over themselves, they had bags under their eyes, and they had all lost some weight.

"Okay, is everyone ready?" Mr. Simmons asked. He still kept his smile on as if everything on this trip had gone according to his plan. He saw a confused look on Arnold's face. "Arnold, your parents will be here shortly," he added.

Just as Mr. Simmons answered, Miles and Stella walked out of a cabin not far from theirs. They now looked clean, but still tired and malnourished. Miles had shaven and it seemed like they had taken a much needed shower. They smiled and walked over to the group. Arnold smiled back and met up with them. Stella put her arm around him and kissed his head.

Principal Wartz cleared his throat. "Well, before we all go back home, I think I'd like to say a few words," he announced. "I just want to say, I'm very proud of you all. And I don't thi-" he was suddenly cut off by the students cheering. Their bus had just drove up to pick them up and take them to the airport. Principal Wartz was about to berate them when Mr. Simmons sympathetically patted his shoulder knowingly. Mr. Simmons then turned around and signaled for Miles, Stella, and Arnold to join them. They walked over to Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz.

"Uh, we don't have a plane ticket," Miles reminded them.

Their eyes widened with the information and looked to each other questioningly.

"Oh, dear. Well.." Mr. Simmons started.

"Not to worry. It's taken care of," a voice interjected.

They turned around to find Eduardo, Lorenda, Adoncia, and Adan smiling at them.

"Eduardo, you didn't," Stella pleaded.

Eduardo held his hand up to stop her. "After everything that's happened, it's the least I could do," he assured.

Miles and Stella smiled and went over to hug him. Arnold walked over to Adan and hugged him. Adan tensed up for a moment before returning the gesture. Arnold then hugged Lorenda and Adoncia.

"Be good for your mom, okay?" he said.

Adoncia kissed his cheek and smiled. Arnold smiled back at her before turning to them all.

"Thanks you guys, for everything. I feel that isn't really enough, but thank you," he said earnestly.

"Keep in touch," Stella told them. They then turned around to head toward the bus. Before they got on, they turned around one last time and waved goodbye to their friends and the villagers. They got on the bus, as it drove away, the class all waved goodbye to the villagers and the jungle, and made their way to the airport.

~

"Nothing we can't handle," Miles said, reassuring his wife. He held her hand as they stepped onto the plane.

Stella took a deep breath and nodded. "Right," she agreed, though not sounding very sure of herself.

Arnold was in front of them and was already putting his carry on luggage into the compartment above their seats. Once he was done, he sat down and waited for his parents to make their way to him. As he did, he saw his classmates sit down and settle into their seats. He caught Helga's eye and blushed, but winked at her. Unbeknownst to him, as she turned to face forward, her heart lurched and she sighed silently. Gerald had switched tickets with Arnold and sat next to Eugene. As soon as Gerald sat down, Eugene started to chatter animatedly. Gerald grimaced slightly and took out his Walkman. He put his headphones on to drown out Eugene's chatter, but Eugene kept chatting anyway.

Elsewhere, Mr. Simmons was once again going down his list to make sure every student was present. He checked it again and again, before Principal Wartz sighed loudly.

"Mr. Simmons, it's alright. It's all going to be okay. Don't fret. Just sit down and relax," he insisted.

Mr. Simmons sighed and sat down reluctantly. "I just want to make sure," he argued.

"I don't think you've relaxed at all this entire trip," Principal Wartz said in a somewhat scolding manner. "You really should just relax."

Mr. Simmons stayed silent for a moment before nodding in agreement. "You're right. I'll just sit back and relax," he said, settling into his seat and closing his eyes.

Behind them, Stinky and Sid were talking to each other about all the stories they were going to tell their parents.

"I can't wait to see the look on my mom's face when Mr. Simmons tells her everything that happened!" Sid exclaimed.

Stinky laughed in agreement and added, "Yeah, I bet my dad's going to chase him around with my Gran'pa's magic farming hoe!"

Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz overheard this and their eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights.

"THEIR PARENTS!" they shouted at the same time.

Miles and Stella reached Arnold and settled into their seats. Miles agreed to take the window seat to prevent Stella from looking out and growing concerned. Arnold reached over and grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry, mom," he said, an overwhelming feeling he couldn't explain going through him as he spoke the last word.

Stella smiled at her son softly. "You've grown so much, Arnold. I'm glad Grandma and Grandpa have been taking good care of you," she said proudly.

"I hope mom hasn't been going too crazy around you," Miles added. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Do they know we're coming?" he questioned.

Arnold thought about this before smiling at his father. "I think he has a hunch that you're both coming back."

And with that, they both grimaced in pain as Stella tightly squeezed their hands as the plane took off a few minutes later.

"Hola, amigos!" a flight attendant announced over the intercom. "Thank you for traveling with us! We have just started our ascent, and the local time is 1:30 pm. Please remember the safety rules and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. We hope you enjoy your flight," she finished before turning off the intercom.

Arnold turned to look at his parents. Miles was looking back at him and Stella was breathing slowly in and out. After a moment, she smiled at her husband and then her son.

"We're going home," Miles remarked. They settled into their seats and talked about anything and everything as the plane flew off into the distance.


	38. Epilogue

**So sad to say this story is over. Thank you all for the kind reviews, and I hope I you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks for sticking with me through this story!**

* * *

><p>Epilogue<p>

Arnold Shortman sat on his couch flipping through a photo album. As he flipped the pages, he smiled and laughed to himself at the memories. He stopped turning pages when he came across a picture of his first birthday. His parents father was holding him up as he drooled on his birthday candle. Underneath the picture was another picture of himself on his eleventh birthday. His parents and grandmother were standing behind him smiling as he blew out the candles on his birthday cake. He started to remember everything about that day.

~

"Sweetie, time to wake up," he had heard. He took a deep breath and snuggled deeper into his bed. He heard a laugh and then felt a hand lightly shake his shoulder.

"Sleepyhead," the voice chuckled. Arnold smiled to himself and turned around. His mother was sitting beside him on his bed and smiling at him.

"Okay, okay, I'm up." He sat up, stretched, and yawned as Stella stood up and walked to the door.

"Hurry and get dressed. You don't want to miss your birthday breakfast," she said giddily.

Arnold smiled and nodded. Stella walked out of his room and closed the door. Arnold got up and got dressed, all the while whistling to himself. He debated on getting his harmonica out, but decided against it. Once he was finished getting ready, he headed out of his room and down the stairs. Once he reached the last step, he paused for a moment and looked around in awe. The hallway was decorated with different shades of blue gossamer, string lights, and balloons.

He smiled wide as he looked around and walked down the hallway. When he reached the staircase, he saw confetti on each step and blue ribbons wrapped around the stair railing. He ran down and headed to the kitchen. Stella was at the stove getting his plate ready when she felt arms wrap around her waist.

"Thanks, mom!" Arnold exclaimed.

Stella laughed and turned around, hugging him back. "Ready to eat?"

Arnold nodded and sat down at the decorated kitchen table. There was a blue tablecloth laid over it with satin blue ribbons tied around his chair. In the middle of the table were several balloons tied together and floating towards the ceiling.

His mother set down a plate full of eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits. Arnold smiled and started eating right away.

"This is great mom," he complimented.

Stella nodded in agreement. "Some things you just don't forget how to do," she winked. Suddenly, Arnold's grandparents came in from the hall.

"Happy Easter!" Gertie exclaimed happily as she set down a big chocolate bunny on the table.

Phil furrowed his eyebrows and put his hands on his hips. "No, Pookie, it's his birthday," he said grumpily.

Gertie looked at him with a confused expression. "Is it?" she asked.

Phil rolled his eyes and ignored her. He turned to his grandson and ruffled his hair. "Well, well. You're growing up fast, aren't ya, Arnold?"

Arnold smirked and playfully pushed his hand away before he continued eating. After a few moments, his father, Mr. Hyunh, Ernie, Oskar, and Suzie walked into the kitchen. They were all carrying small boxes wrapped in shiny, silver wrapping paper. Arnold's eyes brightened as they set them down.

"You guys really didn't have to get me anything," Arnold insisted.

"That's what I told Suzie," Oskar agreed. Suzie elbowed him in his ribs.

"Nonsense, you only turn eleven once," Miles smiled. "Go on, open them," he encouraged.

Arnold smiled and raced to the boxes. He opened them excitedly one by one. He had received socks from Oskar, much to Suzie's annoyance, a hammer from Ernie, a Dino Spumoni cd from Suzie, a free meal coupon for the restaurant Mr. Hyunh works at, and a new blue cap from his grandparents. After thanking everyone, he started to head upstairs to put his presents up and go to school, Miles stopped him.

"I have a surprise for you," he said. He led Arnold to the front door and opened. Outside in front of the stoop was a brand new red bike.

"Whoa, no way! Thanks, dad!" he said and ran to ride it around before heading to school.

~

"Hey, are you ready? They're waiting for us," Arnold heard. He broke out of his reverie and looked up. Helga was standing at the doorway carrying their son and had a diaper bag slung over her shoulder. Arnold nodded and closed the photo album. He got up from the couch and put it back onto the shelf. He headed to the doorway where Helga was waiting for him.

She stepped forward and reached for the doorknob. Arnold stopped her for a moment and looked in her eyes. "I love you," he said and kissed her lips softly. He then turned to his baby son and kissed his forehead. Helga smiled at him and opened the door. They got into their car and made their way to the neighborhood park.

"I hope they haven't been waiting too long," Helga remarked, turning around every few seconds to the car seat to make sure their baby was okay.

"They'll be okay," Arnold assured as he drove.

When they arrived to the park, Helga breathed a sigh of relief. She was happy to finally be there. She got out of the car and unbuckled her baby out of the car seat. She cooed as she did so.

"I'll get the diaper bag," Arnold told her. Helga nodded in response. She walked to the park and waved to the couple waiting for them. They had already set the picnic up, and were sitting down on the grass and enjoying the breeze.

"Look, it's Grandma and Grandpa," she cooed to her son. Her son reached his arms out as they reached Miles and Stella.

"Aww, you're getting bigger every day, aren't you little Phillip?" Stella murmured as she took him and kissed his cheeks.

Arnold walked to them and set down the diaper bag. He gave his mother a kiss and hugged his dad then sat down beside his wife. As they all talked and ate, Arnold reflected on the moment. He looked at his wife and son and then at his parents. He thought of everything they had gone through over the years, the good and bad. He remembered all of the arguments he had with Helga when they were kids and seeing her now felt surreal to him. After spending all those years without his parents, he remembered how strange it was to feel natural with them as if they had never left.

He felt it was all worth it and he would do it all over again. At twenty-five years old, he had everything he wanted and more. Arnold took a deep breath and sighed, feeling truly content with his life.

_'Perfect,'_ he thought.


	39. Thank you!

Hi, everyone! It's been a while since I've finished this story, but I just wanted to thank you all for the kind words. :)


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